sarah chase

volleyball school: Timberline (Campbell River) freshman’s future: St. Mary’s (Calif.)

When Sarah Chase left her home away from home in North Vancouver in mid-May, she did so with the knowledge that if things worked out as well as they could, she’d wind up missing her high school prom.

“But I’d still be able to fly back home for my commencement ceremonies,” the volleyball star from Campbell River’s Timberline Secondary stressed.

If you’re getting a little confused, don’t worry, because since the start of 2015, The Province’s B.C. girls volleyball player of the year has been leading a nomadic lifestyle, living out of her suitcase in the pursuit of a national age-group title, and a spot within Volleyball Canada’s senior national team player pool, the latter despite the fact she’s still only 17.

What an amazing journey it has been for Chase, who has lived up to her surname en route to an NCAA Div. 1 collegiate career which awaits her in the fall at St. Mary’s College in California’s Bay Area. Where to start? In late November, as her team’s star outside hitter, Chase helped the Timberline Wolves to a second-place finish at the B.C. Triple A championship tournament. Come the new year, she had relocated from her Campbell River digs to new accommodations in North Vancouver, attending nearby Sutherland Secondary so she could further hone her skills with the BCO Volleyball Club’s Under-18 team.

Chase then accompanied BCO to the Canadian national club championships, where she helped the team to a dominating gold medal finish. From there, it was off to Winnipeg for national team tryouts, where she was selected to the Canadian senior national ‘B’ team.

“All my teachers have been so supportive and accommodating with school work,” says Chase, who after being named to the national team on May 25 has been hunkering down with her text books and homework in Winnipeg, where she will train until later this month.

That might seem like drudgery, but Chase is happy, because volleyball has become the vehicle driving her success. That much is apparent by her million-dollar smile, the one trait that, beyond her well-rounded on-court skills, stood out most to all the schools recruiting her.

“It just happens,” she says of the joy she can’t hide on the court. “Volleyball, since I have been a little kid, has always been the release for me from school work, from my chores. It has always been fun.”

On Thursday, when she dons cap and gown to receive her high school diploma, count on that smile lighting up the room.