Volleyball standout inspired by hockey brothers
Grimsby grad going to Missouri school on athletic scholarship
Mimi Dunda doesn’t know where she would be without volleyball, but the sport is taking her from Grimsby to Kansas City, Mo., this fall.
Dunda is heading to University of Missouri-Kansas City on a volleyball scholarship in pursuit of a degree in communications including film and media studies.
At Grimsby Secondary School, Dunda was named the junior female athlete of the year in both 2015 and 2016. She was selected as the volleyball team’s most valuable player in 2015.
“Mimi has such great potential
to have a tremendous career here at UMKC,” said head coach Christi Posey. “A latecomer to the game, Mimi shares a great work ethic with her athletic family.
“Both brothers were star hockey players in Canada and Mimi is excited to make herself known as a tough competitor as well.”
Dunda started playing volleyball in Grade 7 when her rep basketball team was on the verge of folding. A friend convinced Dunda to accompany her to a Niagara Rapids tryout.
Her raw talent was at work when she missed the first two tryouts and made the club’s A team after attending only the last tryout session.
“To my surprise, I made the U13 Rapids Black team, and I fell in love with the sport,” said Dunda. “I played school volleyball throughout elementary school, but I never really thought I would consider playing rep volleyball.”
Dunda is inspired by her hockey-playing brothers Liam, who was drafted by the St. Louis
Blues in 2015 and finished his junior career with the St. Catharines Falcons, and Riley, a stroke survivor whose story captured the attention of the hockey world.
“You have to be willing to put in the work, push through those bumps in the road and make sacrifices in order to achieve your goals,” she said.
This past season, Dunda served as the middle hitter on the No. 1-ranked team in Ontario.
“I learned so much this past season,” said Dunda. “The girls on my team have a different kind of confidence, and that really helped me when running new plays and improving a lot of my skills.
“They’re like the sisters I never had, and as teammates and friends we all push each other to be the best we can be on and off the court.”
In May, Dunda played a key role as the Halton Hurricanes won the Ontario Volleyball Association under-18 championship.
“Playing against, and beating, teams that I watched when I was playing in a lower division made me gain a lot of confidence in my skills and what I could bring to the court,” said Dunda.
She credits her coach, Steve Delaney, as the difference maker this past season.
“Having a coach like him led my teammates and myself to match and go above that level of commitment,” said Dunda. “As a coach, he took the time to have one-on-one meetings with each player after every tournament, helped us self-analyze our game play, and really went the extra mile to show how committed he was as our coach.”
Delaney was recently named the new head coach of the Brock University women’s volleyball team.
Delaney’s first impression of Dunda was her raw athletic ability and work ethic, but most importantly, her desire to improve.
“Her strength is at the net blocking. She is a coach’s dream as she never questions anything and gives 100 per cent all the time,” said Delaney.