Four volleyball athletes from Trinity Western University are representing Canada to compete at the Women's Pan American Cup, now underway in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Hilary Howe ('21, Calgary), Brie King ('19, Langley), Avery Heppell (Langley, B.C.), and Kayle Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) are lacing up for Team Canada at the Women's Pan American Cup.
Team Canada has already won a game at the tournament, defeating Puerto Rico in three sets on Monday (25-17, 25-16, 25-18). All four athletes representing Trinity Western featured in Canada's victory over Puerto Rico, as Howe led the Canadians in attacking points by scoring nine.
Heppell, a fourth-year eligible player starting this fall, and Plouffe, a first-year, are coming off the heels of their time with Canada's NextGen team. The NextGen program serves as a gateway for younger players to make their way into the Canadian national team.
Heppell has featured prominently for the Spartans throughout her three full seasons of play, amassing a total of 426 kills in 64 matches played.
Howe and King recently represented Canada at the NORCECA Continental Championship, winning bronze as they both featured in prominent roles for the national team.
Howe, who recently graduated from TWU last spring, will be building on her successful international career thus far. Pan-American Cup will stand as her third international appearance in 2021. Howe also represented Canada at the Summer Universiade, the Pan American Games, NORCECA Champions Cup, and the NORCECA Continental Championship. Howe recently signed her first professional contract with the Beziers Angels, a French team playing in the prestigious Ligue A Féminine.
Brie King was a Canada West all-star and two-time conference champion throughout her career with the Spartans (2016 and 2019), has also gained incredible traction on the international stage since she graduated from TWU in 2019. King earned Canada's starting setting role for the 2020 FIVB Continental Olympic Qualification tournament. She has now also had two professional experiences, playing in Germany in 2019-20 with Dresdner SC 1898 and with Athletes Unlimited this past spring. King will be alongside Howe with Beziers in France.
See this story in the Langley Advance Times.
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About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to establish meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four campuses: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vital faith community committed to forming leaders to have a transformational impact on culture. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.