2022-2023 ACAC Women's Overall Athlete of the Year
Edmonton, AB (March 31, 2023) – The Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) is pleased to announce Jenay Varga of the Lakeland Rustlers Women's Volleyball team has been selected as the 2022-2023 ACAC Women’s Overall Athlete of the Year. This prestigious award is sponsored by Konica Minolta.
The Muenster, SK native has once again proven herself to be an outstanding athlete by earning the title of ACAC Female Athlete of the Year, in addition to several other award nominations and wins during the 2022-2023 women's volleyball season. Varga's exceptional accomplishments include being named to the ACAC All-Conference Team for the third consecutive season, as well as being recognized as an ACAC Tournament All-Star Team member and the ACAC North Division Player of the Year for the second year in a row. She also received her second CCAA All-Canadian award and was awarded the Tournament MVP at the CCAA National Championship.
Following her MVP win, her coach, Austin Dyer, praised Varga's hitting accuracy and noted that despite her smaller stature, she is able to score on almost every swing.
"She can hit every off-speed shot," he said. "To have a player that can do that with the arm she has, she’s in a league of her own and we’re very grateful that she’s on our team.”
Varga's third season as a collegiate All-Star was her best yet in terms of statistics. She led the ACAC in kills per set (4.09), service aces per set (.8), and points per set (5), as well as in the accumulative totals of those stats. Additionally, she finished third in hitting percentage, ranked in the top 25 for digs per set, and was part of one of the top serve-receive tandems in the country.
During the CCAA Championship, Varga's exceptional all-around performance was on full display, with 41 kills, 3 aces, 1 block, and 21 digs in just 10 sets. Her game-winning point, a diving pass to a hard cross-court kill, was a perfect summary of her season.
“She's so athletic and dynamic," said Dyer. "Just a phenomenal play and a perfect way to win a championship, similar to 2017 when we got a block from our blocking sub Bailee Weiler.”
Varga is currently pursuing a Bachelor of General Studies at Lakeland College. Her 2023 conference and national gold medals are her third and fourth pieces of team hardware, after being part of the 2019 ACAC Bronze medal-winning team and the 2022 Silver medal team last season.
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About the ACAC: The ACAC is the governing body for intercollegiate athletics in Alberta. Its mission is to provide competitive collegiate sport experiences, promote academic achievement and be a leader of sport development in Canada.
For more information on the ACAC, please visit our website: www.acac.ab.ca
For additional information, contact:
Mark Kosak, ACAC
Chief Executive Officer
403-875-7329
markk@acac.ab.ca
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