UBC THUNDERBIRDS’ RAYEL QUIRING IS GIVING BACK
But for now, T- birds volleyball captain focused on berth for CIS championship
From an early age, Rayel Quiring was taught the value of giving, whether it was to her community or to her teammates on the volleyball court.
As the fifth- year captain and outside hitter of the UBC Thunderbirds women’s volleyball team, she has given everything she possibly can to a marvellous run of four straight CIS national championships, with No. 5 this year a very distinct possibility.
The Thunderbirds need to finish no worse than third in this weekend’s Canada West final four tournament at the UBC War Memorial Gym to qualify for a trip to Mcmaster University in Hamilton, Ont., and the national competition next month.
But Quiring’s the court have recognized.
She is this year’s Canada West nominee for the Thérèse Quigley Award, as demonstrated by not only her prowess in volleyball, but her academic achievement and devotion to community projects, such as Leaders of Tomorrow, through the Vancouver Board of Trade.
The winner for the award will be announced today.
“A lot of that is part of my values and my family’s values,” said Quiring, a commerce efforts off also been major who credits her mom, Emily, and dad, Rod, for helping pass those along.
“We really love to give back to the community and give back to anybody that we can. I’ve had a lot of people touch my life ... and that’s the biggest reason to make a difference in somebody’s life.”
Her work with the Canadian Cancer Society is what she holds dearest.
Quiring lost her uncle, Richard, to lymphoma two years ago, but not after he beat esophageal cancer.
A teacher at Greendale Elementary in Chilliwack, Richard was Quiring’s inspiration in several areas of her life.
“He was the biggest little kid I ever met in my life. Every family holiday we’d spend together. He instilled in me a love of reading, a love of having fun and eating. Eating was his thing,” said Quiring, who is hoping to raise $ 10,000 by June 16 for this year’s Relay for Life.
“To have the opportunity to work with the Canadian Cancer Society has been really special to me.”
Quiring has also done work for Habitat for Humanity, helping build seven new homes in El Salvador and New Orleans, and is a volunteer with the UBC Athletic Council.
For the moment, those projects will give way to the task at hand, and that will be to survive a daunting Canada West final four tournament.
All four teams — UBC, University of Winnipeg, Langley’s Trinity Western University and Edmonton’s University of Alberta — sit in the top five of the CIS top- 10 rankings.
The Thunderbirds are No. 1, thanks to their 18- 2 regular season record.
“I think every team has their strengths and their weakness and I think our team is focusing on our strengths and bringing those out so we can take care of the competition,” said Quiring.
“You could argue it might be more difficult to win [ Canada West],” added UBC head coach Doug Reimer.
“You’ve got to be excited about this time, but you have to recognize that it doesn’t really matter that we were 18- 2 in league play. What that did was get us home court advantage. What we’ve worked for all year is now.”
UBC opens up the tournament on today ( 6: 15 p. m. PST) against the TWU Spartans. Last February, the two clubs staged an epic five- set Canada West final, with the Thunderbirds coming away victorious 3- 2.
The win included comebacks in the fourth and fifth sets for the Thunderbirds, who also trailed the match 2- 1 after three sets.
With history in their minds, many of UBC’S players believe their team will have a target on its back this weekend.
“I think some people expect that we should be coming out on top, but essentially we’re looking for the national berth, whether it’s first, second or third,” said fifth- year outside hitter Kyla Richey, who is also part of UBC’S four straight championships.
“The most important thing is getting there and doing well there. It’s definitely nice to go into nationals after having success in the final four. Having the tournament here I think it gives us a little edge.”