Ice, ice, baby, here comes Captain Kisten

A FEW weeks ago, under-20 national captain Reyanka Kisten contemplated her future in the sport after being suspended by Volleyball South Africa.

In a spectacular turn of events, the talented 19-year-old is now packing her bags for Europe to represent South Africa in the sport’s latest offering, snow volleyball, later this month.

Kisten breathed a sigh of relief when the federation lifted her recent suspension. She had been found guilty of playing in a tournament outside Kwazulu-natal in February without the consent of the provincial body.

“I am overwhelmed with joy. I had to read the official congratulatory letter a few times before it actually sank in,” Kisten said of the call-up.

“I am delighted that my suspension was lifted. It was an honest mistake and completely unintentional.”

Kisten, who is from Phoenix, Durban, is not a lanky player but what she lacks in height she makes up for with her big leap. This specialist outside hitter is also a powerful and composed player.

She has gained a fair bit of international experience already, having led the national junior team on home soil at the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) Games.

At the Region V Championships staged in Botswana last year, she proved such an outstanding player in her team that she was awarded a bronze medal.

“Playing on such a platform was a dream come true because I am passionate about volleyball. The tournament itself was something you can’t explain. There is a whole different atmosphere that comes with playing for your country,” Kisten said.

Playing on snow in Italy and Austria in front of hundreds of fans against a picturesque setting will be a completely different challenge.

“The rules are similar to beach volleyball, but obviously the conditions are different,” said Kisten, who has been named in a team of four that includes Lebogang Malahlela, Annete Fredericksen and Bejancke Della.

“We will be playing on compacted snow and will have to adapt when we get there as none of us have played in conditions like this. There’s no real training you can do to adapt to those conditions, but fitness and ball skills can be done here at home.”

Kisten only began to take the sport seriously after she matriculated from Danville Park Girls’ High School.

She got ahead in the game after enrolling at the University of Kwazulu-natal as a Bcom student last year.

“Volleyball is probably one of the most challenging things I have taken on in my life.

“There are so many skills and techniques. What stirred my passion was the challenge the game brought and the fact that I could see results in my personal growth in the sport, over a period, through the effort I put in,” said Kisten.