Penticton’s Nate Speijer has earned another award.
UBC Okanagan recognized its athletes recently and Speijer, a Pen High grad, was the recipient of Male Athlete of the Year. The fourth-year outside hitter parlayed his Canada West all-star honour and his volleyball team’s improbable run to the playoffs in their first year in the Canadian Interuniversity Sport into the institution’s highest athletic honour. Speijer finished the season fifth in the country in kills per set, sixth in the country in points per set and fifth in total attacks. In his first year of CIS completion, Speijer was recognized as a Canada West all-star and led his team to an 8-12 record in league play and a trip to the Canada West playoffs. Speijer also won the award in 2009/10.
When Speijer earned the Canada West honour he said his selection was pretty amazing, despite his team not performing as well as he’d hoped. “No one likes to lose,” said Speijer. “I put in a lot of hard work and it was nice to get some recognition. I’m looking forward to next year.”