Raya Surinx repeats as U SPORTS women's volleyball player of the year

Raya Surinx of the Manitoba Bisons has been named the winner of the Mary Lyons Award as the player of the year in U SPORTS women’s volleyball for the second straight year. 

The announcement was made on Wednesday night at the All-Canadian Award Ceremony in Winnipeg, site of the 2024 championship tournament.

Other major award winners include Béatrice Dubreuil of Sherbrooke, who won the Mark Tennant as rookie of the year; Kasandra Trenke of Dalhousie, who took home the Thérèse Quigley award (student-athlete community service); and Janelle Rozema of UFV, who won the Marilyn Pomfret Award as the Fox40 Coach of the Year.

The 2025 U SPORTS Women’s Volleyball Championship gets underway at noon on Friday in the Investors Group Athletic Centre at the University of Manitoba. Play continues through to the gold medal game, which is set for 7 p.m. (Central) on Sunday. 

Championship website: https://en.usports.ca/championships/2024-2025/2024-25_WVB/ 

Mary Lyons Award (outstanding player of the year): Raya Surinx, Manitoba

Raya Surinx of Manitoba earned the Mary Lyons Award for the second straight year, and her third U SPORTS major award in as many years of eligibility. The Winnipegger is the sixth person to pick up the Mary Lyons in consecutive years, and the first since Laetitia Tchoualack of Montréal in 2008 and 2009. The only other Manitoba Bison to accomplish the feat was Michelle Sawatzky, who won in 1991 and 1992.

Despite missing the first two games of the season, Surinx still led the country in kills (310) and kills per set (4.84). It's the second straight year the Science major has accomplished the feat. The two-time Team Canada NextGen selection was also sixth in the country in service aces, with 40 while her 449 total points and 5.6 points per set were also the most in U SPORTS.

Surinx has 1,191 career kills as a Bison, which is the second-most in the rally scoring era for the program, and 13th all-time. Meanwhile, her 127 regular season aces are the second most in the rally scoring era in school history. Surinx's 4.168 career kills per set also ranks third all-time in Canada West history. 

Other nominees: Emilia Mikanovich (Saint Mary’s), Jaël-Esther Telfort (Sherbrooke), Hannah Duchesneau (Queen’s). 

Mark Tennant Award (rookie of the year): Béatrice Dubreuil, Sherbrooke

Béatrice Dubreuil picked up the Mark Tennant award as the national rookie of the year and was named a second-team All-Canadian. 

Béatrice’s 2024-25 season turned heads. The product of Candiac, Que., led the RSEQ individual rankings for total points throughout the season, averaging 3.95 per set (260.5 total), as well as for kills, with 223 total and an average of 3.38 per set. Béatrice played in all 21 of the Vert & Or’s matches, playing a pivotal role in Sherbrooke’s offence and leading her team to a 17-4 record and second place in the RSEQ.

She becomes the fifth member of the Vert & Or to win the honour, following Raïssa Nasser (2013), Marie-Christine Pruneau (2005), Annie Martin (2001) and Anne-Marie Lemieux (1997).

Other nominees: Grace Blaskovits (Saint Mary’s), Emma Buntic (Western), Sophia Hansen (Calgary).

Thérèse Quigley Award (student-athlete community service): Kasandra Trenke, Dalhousie

Dalhousie middle blocker Kasandra Trenke is the 2025 recipient of the Thérèse Quigley Award, given to a women's volleyball student-athlete who shows outstanding achievements in three areas: volleyball, academics and community involvement.

A third-year microbiology and immunology student from Calgary and one of the Tigers' team captains, Trenke excelled on the court and in the classroom this season, while also volunteering her time in her community. She finished the regular season with the best hitting percentage in the conference (.366)—the fourth best in U SPORTS and was also named an AUS second team all-star. In the classroom, Trenke boasts a 4.18 GPA. She is a two-time Academic All-Canadian on pace to repeat for a third time this year.

Her extensive volunteer work includes helping to run the Special Tigers program which runs events that allow youth with special needs to partner with varsity athletes to share their love of sports. Trenke lends her time to several other on-campus initiatives, including Extra Awesome Dalhousie (a program created to celebrate the abilities of individuals with Down syndrome), and SPRING Dalhousie (Students Pairing to Reach Individual's Needs and Goals). Off campus, Trenke also volunteers with Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Trenke is the first Tiger to win the award, which has gone to an athlete from AUS nine teams overall.

Other nominees: Béatrice Lamarche (Laval), Alex Sinik (Waterloo), Rosetta Cyr (Saskatchewan) 

Marilyn Pomfret Award (Fox40 Coach of the Year): Janelle Rozema, UFV

Janelle Rozema won the Marilyn Pomfret Award after her UFV Cascades outperform every expectation in the 2024-25 season. After initially being ranked sixth in the Canada West coaches’ poll to start the year, Rozema guided her team to a 17-3 record and top spot in the Canada West for the first time in program history. She is the first Cascades head coach to win national coach of the year honours.

Rozema has guided the Cascades since 2019 and led the team through their transition to Canada West from the CCAA in the 2021-22 season. In the team’s four seasons in Canada West, the Cascades have become a powerhouse in the conference – finishing in the top four of the regular season standings three times, posting a 61-23 regular season record over that span. 

Other nominees: Patrick Murray (Dalhousie), Olivier Trudel (Montréal), Melissa Bartlett (Western)