Chasing a national title at home

It’s a thrill of a lifetime for any athlete to compete for a national championship in their hometown.

Welland native Natasha Desjardins gets that opportunity starting Thursday when Niagara College’s Welland campus hosts the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association women’s volleyball championships.

“It’s awesome and it’s really exciting,” the 20-year-old said. “It’s going to be really cool to see how many locals and high school friends come out.”

The starting outside hitter knows it won’t be easy but feels Niagara, the two-time reigning Ontario College Athletic Association silver medalists, have a shot at taking home the top prize.

“We just have to let ourselves play at this point,” the Jean Vanier alumnus said. “We have trained hard all season and we have to trust our coach, trust each other and trust the process that we can play and do our thing.”

She can’t wait for the action to begin. Niagara starts off against Vancouver Island University Thursday at 6 p.m.

“We love the sport so much and leading up to it it has been so exciting because you are practising and you’ve had a whole week off to prep,” said the former travel player with the Mountain Athletic Club. “I am thrilled to play in a national championship because I don’t think any of us have had the chance and this could be the only time.”

Niagara head coach Natasha Spaling likes where her team is at heading into the national championships.

“I always believe that we can compete in any tournament that we are in,” she said. “We are really starting to click as a team and this is definitely the best ball that we have been playing.

“Provincials was a really good tournament for us, training has been going well and the athletes are healthy.”

The team has been building as the season progressed.

“We have done a nice job of progressively getting better throughout the season and hopefully we will play our best ball at nationals and see what happens,” Spaling said.

Desjardins has played a key role in Niagara’s successful season.

“She is an excellent leader for us and she has been such a consistent, steady player from front row to back row,” Spaling said. “Her defence is something that our team absolutely needs.”

That defence has been a big part of Desjardins’ contribution.

“She makes digs for us that are huge turning points in games and she is a consistent player who doesn’t make a lot of mistakes,” she said. “We can always rely on her and she is someone people look to on the court for leadership and guidance.”

The second-year player feels she has made great strides in her game this season.

“From first year to second year, I have become more of an asset to the team,” the fitness and health promotion student said. “In my first year, I laid low and let the third years and fourth years do their thing.”

That has certainly changed in the 2018-19 campaign.

“This year I have a bigger role overall: Digging; hitting; leadership; and, everything has really evolved compared to last year.”

Leadership has been a big piece of what she brings to the court.

“I had a little bit of experience through high school being a leader and someone my teammates looked to,” Desjardins said. “Going into second year, I knew I had to take on a bigger role.

Spaling sensed that as well and nominated Desjardins to be team captain at the start of the season.

“At that point, I needed to be that person for my teammates,” Desjardins said.

The soft-spoken athlete is never going to be an overly vocal leader, but her actions and quiet demeanour speak volumes to her teammates.

‘I’m not overly loud and it is the way that I show myself,” she said. “I lead by example.”

Other changes in her games this season have include improved mental toughness.

“I’m not letting the little mistakes get to me and I am moving on and keeping a smile on my face whether we are down or up. Keeping a positive attitude is probably the hardest thing to do in volleyball.”

Desjardins is planning to return for another year at Niagara College and wants to continue working on her game.

“I want to play an even bigger role that I did this year, possibly win an award and make a bigger impact on the college.”

Spaling is looking forward to Desjardins’ continued evolution.

“This year, she has taken a lot of steps to build her shot repertoire and next year it’s when to use them, how do I score, how am I setting up and what my next shot is after the one I am using now,” she said.