Mission’s Shubdeep Wander is continuing his volleyball career close to home.
The Mission Secondary 2018 grad is one of six new B.C. talents joining the UFV Cascades men’s volleyball program this fall.
Wander, a highly dynamic attacker who can play on the left or right side, had a strong 2017 club volleyball campaign with the Fraser Valley Volleyball Club. He celebrated a pair of tournament titles, winning the Best of the West tourney in Calgary, along with B.C. provincials. Wander subsequently spent the 2018 club season playing for Cascades men’s volleyball team head coach Kyle Donen with the Orangemen Volleyball Club.
“He’s a competitor,” Donen said of Wander. “He’s a very determined guy, and he played a lot of volleyball this past year, including a club season with me as his coach. I saw a lot of fire – he’s a guy who really wants to be out there and contribute, and I’m looking forward to him bringing that to our team. He has a natural arm that you just don’t see very often, and I think he’s really helped us this year.”
“Ever since I started playing volleyball, all I wanted to do was play professionally as a career,” said Wander, who is launching his post-secondary academic career in UFV’s bachelor of science program. “Every decision has been made to further my progress towards that goal, and I believe that UFV is the best opportunity to accomplish that dream.
The other five new talents joining Wander this fall include: outside hitters Jackson Obst (Kelowna) and Ethan Lapointe (Abbotsford), libero Elijah St-Germain (Surrey), and middle Andres Barrero. Additionally, setter Bobby Blaskovits (Kelowna) is transferring to UFV from Douglas College.
“This will be a good group for us,” Donen said. “We needed to add depth in key areas for our team moving forward, and I think each guy has the potential to bring something significant to the table. I could see several of them making a major impact for us in the fall.”