By Cascades Media. Kayla Unger (formerly Bruce), UFV alumnus and assistant women’s volleyball coach, was announced as a finalist for the Sport BC “College Athlete of the Year” Award today. Unger graduated from UFV last June, and was an essential piece of last year’s CCAA national championship-winning volleyball team. The Sport BC award is meant to recognize athletic excellence during the 2013 season, and finalists are chosen by a panel of 20 sportswriters, broadcasters, and amateur sports leaders.
Unger is already one of the most highly decorated athletes in UFV history. After transferring to UFV from Briercrest College, Sask. in 2010, she played three seasons with the Cascades, leading them to a CCAA bronze medal in 2012, and followed that with a national championship in 2013. In 2012 she also took home PACWEST Female Player of the Year (across all sports), PACWEST Female Volleyball Player of the Year, PACWEST First Team All-Star, and a First Team CCAA national championship tournament All-Star. In 2013 Unger surpassed herself, winning everything but the podium itself as she accumulated:
• PACWEST First Team All-Star
• MVP of the PACWEST championship tournament
• PACWEST Player of the Year (again)
• CCAA First Team All-Star
• CCAA All-Canadian honours
• CCAA Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year
• 2013 CCAA Female Athlete of the Year (across all sports)
This year’s event will be Sport BC’s 48th Annual Athlete of the Year Awards. The winners will be announced on March 5 at an awards ceremony and gala dinner hosted by the Fairmont Hotel in Vancouver. The other finalists for College Athlete of the Year are Burnaby’s RuiLin Huang (Badminton) and Kamloops’ Alanna Bekkering (Soccer).