Skip to content

UBCO Heat’s Amaya Perry named Canada West Rookie of the Year

Perry is the first to win the award in UBCO sports history
20800870_web1_200306-KCN-Rookie-of-the-year-KEYWsORD_1

It’s been quite a month for UBC Okanagan’s top rookie Amaya Perry.

After being selected to the all-rookie team last week, the UBC Okanagan Heat’s outside hitter has been selected as the 2019-20 recipient of the Canada West rookie of the year award.

Perry is the first UBCO athlete to win the award for first-year players in the schools history.

“We counted on Amaya to play like a veteran all season, and she did not disappoint,” said Steve Manuel, head coach for the UBCO women’s volleyball team.

”She is fearless from the service line, and she used her devastating float serve as a weapon to keep teams off balance every single time she stepped back to the end line.”

READ MORE: Kelowna gymnastics star grabs exclusive spot in Canadian High Performance Program

Along with her most recent achievement, Perry has also won the Canadian Woman nominee for the Mark Tennant Award as U SPORTS Rookie of the Year. No UBCO player has ever won the national award.

The Chin, Alta., native has been nothing short of stellar this season, racking up 59 aces during the season, setting a new UBCO single-season record by 13. Perry’s mark is fourth all-time in a Canada West season.

She also led the UBCO offensive attack for a large part of this season. Perry finished second for the Heat this season in total kills with 227, in total attacks with 679, and in points with 304.5.

Those 227 kills were the top-mark amongst first-year players across the nation.

READ MORE: Kelowna Rockets put faith in coach Mallette, drop interim tag from job title


Daniel Taylor
Reporter, Kelowna Capital News
Follow me on Twitter