Kayla Bruce of the University of the Fraser Valley women's volleyball team has been named the PacWest player of the month by the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA).
The distinction is bestowed upon a student-athlete in each conference of the CCAA, the national governing body.
Bruce, a first team PacWest all-star in 2010-11, has helped her Cascades to a 12-2 record heading into the Christmas break, and they're ranked No. 4 in Canada.
The third-year middle is third in the nation in blocks with 53, and ranks fifth in total offence in the PacWest and is second in aces.
“Kayla continually excels at all aspects of her game," noted Cascades coach Dennis Bokenfohr.
SUCCESSFUL COMEBACK FOR DYMENT
Maria Dyment of Abbotsford made an impressive return to the world of competitive bodybuilding, picking up several awards at the Sandra Wickham Fall Classic in New Westminster last month.
During the 1980s, Dyment had significant regional success in the sport, winning the title of Miss Fraser Valley in 1981 and finishing second in both the Miss Okanagan (1985) and Miss British Columbia (1986) competitions.
As she transitioned to the national level, Dyment faced pressure to take steroids, and she elected to retire from competition in 1986.
Fast forward 25 years, and Dyment found herself yearning for the weight room and the stage of competition once again. She dropped 50 pounds, and finished second in both the lightweight and grand master competitions at the Wickham event. She was also took home an overall award as best poser, and qualified for the B.C. championships in July 2012.
BONSPIELS GALORE
The Abbotsford Curling Club was a busy place in November, playing host to a trio of bonspiels.
The Ernie Wah rink out of Langley, skipped by Ross Anderson, won the Masters over-60 spiel, with Derek Robinson the top local finisher in fifth place. Donna Christian of Cloverdale took the senior ladies event, while the Tardie rink out of Langley won the 'A' event at the junior spiel. In terms of local content, the team of Nick Parker, Mitch Styba, Jordan Regier and Jordan Kiss finished fourth in the junior 'A' event, while Vincent Wood, Nick Bonneau and Carson Keith were fourth in the junior 'B' event.