the carillon | October 3 - 16, 2013
14 sports
Sister sister Kacey and Jayde McFee make a name for themselves paige kreutzwieser staff writer Tennis has the Williams sisters. Baseball had the Alomar, and more currently, the Upton brothers. Everyone knows the Manning’s in football. Basketball had the Miller brother-sister duo, and hockey has a whole bunch that I don’t really care about. Yes, the notorious sport siblings. Athletes that grew up together, trained together, and likely at one time or another, played together or against each other. It brings drama of rivalry chatter to the playing field – we all remember the lead up to the Harbaugh Bowl, more commonly known as Superbowl XLVII when opposing coaches John and Jim Harbaugh went head to head. Well, the University of Regina can boast our own Manning counterparts, except this is a different kind of football. Jayde, fourth-year education student, and Kacey, second-year engineering student, are the McFee sisters; two girls from Prince Albert who are proving their worth on the soccer pitch. For head coach Bob Maltman it’s almost like a déjà-vu experience. “[I] have the unique situation such as with Kacey and Jayde, just to see the progression they’ve made as younger players,” said
Jarrett Crowe
Unfortunately, only Jayde made the picture, sorry Kacey. Maltman, who coached each girl prior to their arrival on the university team. “Just to see their maturity in being able to take more constructive feedback more positively.” Jayde remembered her time with Maltman when she was roughly 15 years old. “I enjoyed Bob when I was young. He was a good coach, and has a great vision for the program now,” she said. “Both have been a good experience, when I was young and now.” The McFee sisters, like most athletic siblings, had grown up playing most of their life together.
Both knew they wanted to eventually play at the higher level they are at now, but just being on the same university team is good enough. “We’ve grown up together playing soccer, so it wasn’t anything new. It was nice,” said Jayde when asked about having her sister join the Cougars squad last year. “I know last year it was especially nice,” admitted younger sister Kacey. “Because you have that someone who can introduce you to everyone. It just makes you feel a lot more comfortable coming in [as a rookie].”
Kacey may be able to play the big sister role for the third McFee sister, Meghan, who currently is in grade ten in their hometown and may decide to continue in her older sisters’ athletic footsteps. Maltman has recognized the ability that all three McFee sisters possess, stating that the youngest is “certainly on our radar.” He also recognizes and respects the off-field attitudes of his current McFee athletes. “They’re both great student athletes,” he said. “They’re very proud of the team. They are great ambassadors for their community of Prince Albert. Anytime we can
get young women with that good quality characteristics, as a coach, that’s all you can really ask for.” And like any constructive coach, he is also asking for wins, which is what he got in the Cougars game against Lethbridge last weekend. With home-field advantage, the Cougars earned a 2-1 win and broke their streak of three scoreless games. Coming into the games against Calgary and Lethbridge, the girls had lost three of their previous four, but that’s not to say the team is struggling. “It’s the first time in the team’s history we’ve been able to take a point off Trinity Western,” said Maltman, adding that his team also proved their mental maturity in their game against B.C. “We did have a few chances and maybe we were a little bit guilty of wasting those chances, but I was pleased with the fight back.” Even though the McFee sisters expected the weekend to be tough matches, they were excited to just be on the pitch. And the excitement will likely stay all the way through next season, when Jayde will be completing her fifth-year as a Cougar, leaving Kacey in sole possession of the McFee name.
Setting new goals A look at this year’s volleyball squad brady lang sports writer Great news, U of R students. The women’s volleyball team doesn’t look half bad this year. Coming off three seasons with a winning percentage under .350, the team is coming off a fourthplace finish in their U of R Invitational tournament a couple weeks ago to kick off the 2013-14 season. The team thinks that because of their hard work and good coaching that they could do great things in the 2013 season. If their showing at the U of R Invitational is any indication, they may do just that. The team finished in fourth, losing the bronze medal game to Alberta in four sets. The Cougars went 3-2 in the round robin, beating Thompson Rivers, Calgary and Winnipeg, while their losses came at the hands of Manitoba and, of course, Alberta, in the bronze medal game. After last year, it’s crazy to think that the team would have been one win away from being in the finals at a tournament. The team had a rough go last season, finishing with a 5-17 record while ranking third-last in the Canada West division. 4th-year Cougars veteran Michelle Sweeting has high hopes
Arthur Ward
Get out of the way!
for this year’s squad. “Expect a hard working team. We’ll go through our ups and downs, but expect a team that will never give up,” she said. Sweeting has seen everything in her career with the Cougars. The Maryfield, Saskatchewan product also thinks that her team’s success has a lot to do with coaching this season, and their ability to listen and work together as a team. Sweeting, along with the
team’s other veterans, which include two fifth-years and three fourth-years will have to carry a lot of the workload in 2013. The Cougars rookies will have to be leaned on as well. First-year setter Leah Shevkenek believes her team could do big things this year. “Were looking very good, very strong,” says the Calgary native. “I’m loving it, I’m having a lot of fun so far.” Shevkenek is one of four rook-
ies on the squad in 2014 and will be a great addition to the roster this upcoming year. In the past few years it’s seemed that the volleyball team was always missing that one piece that makes a team a top contender. The team would be close during numerous games, only to eventually drop the final set by a small margin. If this team can pull it together, they have a shot at doing something truly special. Cougars head coach Melanie
Sanford is heading into her 12th season with the club. The team is in good hands as Sanford holds University of Regina records for most conference and playoff wins by a women’s volleyball head coach, something that she hopes to add to this year. The Cougars have two preseason tournaments coming up in Vancouver and Montreal in upcoming weeks. Their CIS season does not start until late October when they go on a road trip to Brandon and Winnipeg. The Cougars first home games will be on Nov. 8-9 against Calgary, a team they defeated in the U of R Invitational, and will also be hosting this year’s CIS Championships from Feb. 28 March 2, 2014. Let’s hope the team can keep up the good work and have a successful season. The women’s volleyball team is definitely due for a good year. Time will tell if Sanford’s club will actually break out of the basement and compete for a spot in the playoffs in 2014.