McLean signs with D2 Felician
Kaya McLean knew she had found a home the moment she visited Felician University in Rutherford, N.J.
“I love the campus and I love the environment because it is in a cute downtown area,” the Grade 12 student at Eden said. “If you go one way, you are right in the big city of New York City and the other way it’s the Jersey Shore. And I loved the coaches and the girls I met were super nice.”
But even still, her decision to commit to a volleyball scholarship at the NCAA Division 2 school wasn’t immediate.
“I thought about it for a while because I was a little bit nervous about moving away from home,” the 18-year-old St. Catharines resident said. “It is not super far but it is a new country. But then I thought I was given this opportunity so why not take it? And obviously I have wanted this since Grade 9.”
The appeal of playing post secondary volleyball in the United States has always been there for the six-foot setter, who is planning to study business marketing at Felician.
“I just think the competition is way more intense. Even when I would go away to tournaments with our club to the States, the overall aspect of volleyball was way more intense. I kind of just knew that is where I wanted to be. I just love the drive.”
Felician was the only NCAA Division 2 school to make her an offer but she did have offers from NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) schools and other lower level schools.
“This was the best scholarship offer and the best opportunity so I decided I would take it.”
McLean, who started playing volleyball when she was nine years old with the Niagara Falls Rapids and has been playing club volleyball with the Rapids since she was 13, began the recruiting process in Grade 9 and 10. She hired recruiter Sarah Pavan, a former Canadian Olympian, and put up profiles on a bunch of recruiting platforms, including one called FieldLevel. It was there that McLean and Felician began email conversations.
She can’t wait to get started with her collegiate career.
“I am looking forward to forming a connection with all the other girls. There are six freshmen coming in as well as six that are leaving and they are doing a whole rebuild of the team,” she said. “That is like a whole lineup. Last year they didn’t do super well but hopefully we can improve the school’s ranking.”
Her goal is to earn as much playing time as she can.
“The setter is leaving and there are two freshmen setters coming in. It is going to be a battle to see who is on the court.”
She will be preparing hard to make sure she’s the one setting during games.
“I am training with my club and we will be practising until the end of May. We also have workouts at Iron Performance and I will be training there all summer.”
McLean is a member of the Niagara Rapids under-18 squad that is ranked 15th in the top division.
“It has been super exciting and we have our provincials and nationals coming up soon.”
She is excited about playing again after missing Eden’s high school season with an ankle injury, that involved a third-degree sprain and a fracture.
“That was really sad because I couldn’t compete in my high school season,” she said.
Eden head coach Bill Markham will miss McLean.
“There is so much more to athletics than just skill. I am not going to talk about that because we all know she has great skill. You wouldn’t have been signed if that wasn’t true.”
Markham referred to the three Cs of being an athlete: competency, character and chemistry.
“I am convinced true character is revealed in crisis. Anybody can look good when things are going well but it is when things aren’t going well that true character is revealed,” he said. “When you received the injury this season and it meant your season was done, you could have responded in a bunch of different ways. You could have said that was it and removed yourself from the team but you didn’t. You actually leaned in. You are a person who understands that team is more important that individual and you were always positive even though I imagine it must have been incredibly difficult for you to watch. You are more than a great athlete, you are a great person.”
McLean was crucial to Eden’s chemistry.
“You stepped into this role and the girls loved you because you loved them. I know that you are going to be a huge gift and asset to that program because you have great character and you are going to bring incredible chemistry. You are going to make them better not just because of your skill but because of who you are.”
In a message read at the signing, McLean’s Rapids coaches also sang her praises.
“She is a great athlete and has been an integral part of our team’s success. Kaya has always been eager to learn, she is hard working, a quick study and a true leader.”
McLean is a big fan of volleyball.
“I love that I can play it and I don’t think about anything else. When I play volleyball, I don’t have any other distractions. I am setting and serving the ball and it takes me away from reality for a bit.”
