Melnick’s dream comes true

It was an emotional moment when Grace Melnick received her Team Canada jersey before Canada’s women’s volleyball team headed to Baja California Sur, Mexico, to compete in the U21 Women’s Pan American Cup.

“I could feel the tears forming in my eyes because it had been a dream of mine for so long to wear the Canadian jersey,” the 19-year-old Niagara-on-the-Lake native said. “I couldn’t believe it was finally happening and it was such a surreal moment.”

That feeling carried over to the court in Mexico.

“Being able to share with my teammates was special and we had great team chemistry.”

Canada beat the Dominican Republic 3-0 (25-15, 25-15, 25-22) to finish seventh in tournament. That result was the best Canada could do following losses in pool place to the United States and Argentina, the eventual gold and silver medalists. It was Canada’s only losses at the event.

“That was kind of a bummer but it was a lot of fun,” Melnick said.

The 6-foot-1 middle ended up starting in four of Canada’s matches.

“I got a lot of playing time which was really exciting for me because it was my first international tournament.”

Melnick and 11 other players, including St. Catharines native Jenna Pollock, were selected for the team from among 20 players who attended a 10-day training camp in Edmonton.

“It was pretty exhausting because every day we would have two practices and you had to show up and give it your all every single day,” she said. “We were learning a lot and obviously even if you didn’t make it, it was so cool to even be considered. It was amazing.”

Knowing that the training camp was a tryout for Team Canada was a little stressful.

“I could feel the pressure sometimes,” Melnick said. “When I got back to the dorm rooms, I would start to stress  and think about everything and whether or not I had played well that day. But I had to remind myself to live in the moment and just enjoy being around and training with the top girls for my age in the country. I had to soak it all in and be really grateful for the experience.”

When the tournament was over, Melnick headed back to NCAA Division 1 University of North Carolina Wilmington to help out at the school’s volleyball camps. She is coming off a fine freshman season on and off the court. She started 21 of 25 games for the volleyball team and also saw some action with the beach volleyball squad. In the classroom, the soon-to-be exercise science major was on the Dean’s List both semesters.

“It was a really great freshman season. We didn’t get a lot of wins and I am hoping this year will be much, much better,” the A.N. Myer graduate said. “I can’t complain because I was really lucky to play as much as I did.”

She was a little surprised with the amount of floor time she received.

“Everyone wants to start and play so I knew I had to work really hard in the preseason to prepare as well as I could,” she said. “It was a bit of surprise because there were some people at my position that were older than me.”

She feels her game improved significantly this past season.

“It is much harder for blocking and you have to work really hard and be as fast as you can because the girls are bigger and faster. That has evolved a lot for me.”

Melnick, who previously trained at Volleyball Canada’s National Excellence Program in British Columbia, feels she made a smooth transition into being a university student/athlete.

“I found it pretty easy just because all through high school I was constantly on the go, driving an hour to practice every day and travelling every weekend for tournaments,” she said. “That helped me with time management.”