UBC women’s volleyball lost against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen in four sets on February 10 and 11. But, both games culminated in head coach Doug Reimer honouring the team’s six graduating seniors — Elise Petit, Kayla Oxland, Cara Kovacs, Brynn Pasin, Jayde Robertson and Courtney Hiller.
After the game, though the team lost, the energy in the room was palpable. The War Memorial Gym was filled with T-Bird alumni in their Big Block sweaters, students and the families of the seniors celebrating the work of the team.
The Ubyssey spoke to three of the seniors about their time with the team.
Elise Petit
The 6’1 outside hitter hailing from Redmond, Washington is leaving UBC after graduating from the Master's in International Forestry program.
Head coach Doug Reimer said Petit brought “picture-perfect technical abilities” to UBC’s court and she has made a “huge contribution to our group.”
Petit joined the team in 2020 after graduating with a bachelor of science in biology from Dartmouth College where she played on the women’s volleyball team as an outside hitter. There, she played 185 sets and garnered 375 kills.
At UBC, Petit kept the same momentum playing 142 sets and boasted 371 kills, with 2.61 kills per set and a 0.192 hitting percentage over two seasons. Besides her offensive skills, Petit also garnered 271 digs, all while being a 2021/22 Academic All Canadian.
When her teammates were tasked with describing her with one word, they said she is “passionate, hardworking, driven… loyal, kind [and] graceful,” according to Reimer.
“Elise, I’m very happy you chose to finish your university career here, not only so I could get a chance to coach you, but I’d get to know you,” said Reimer.
Moving forward, Petit is hoping to continue playing volleyball on the national and professional levels.
“It’s very bittersweet coming out of my time here,” said Petit. “I’ve loved every second of it, I love this team, I love our coaches.”
Kayla Oxland
Oxland started her volleyball career at UBC in 2018 after coming off a 2018 Volleyball Canada national championship win.
After playing a whopping 56 sets during her freshman season, she was named to the Canada West 2018/19 all-rookie team. The 5’8 setter played 291 sets and racked up 1,865 assists and 464 digs, over four seasons. She was also named as one of the 2019 recipients of the Volleyball BC Ray Lepp Scholarship which honours post-secondary athletes who “show promise of competing for Canada at the national team level,” according to its website.
The youngest of three, Oxland was dubbed the nickname “Baby Bean,” according to Reimer.
“I actually never call her [that], but I will tonight in front of everybody because I think it’s perfect,” he said. “She’s kind of like this caffeinated, high-energy, jumping around bean, who is just so much fun to be around.”
Reimer reflected on being alongside Oxland throughout her volleyball career, starting back when he coached her club volleyball team for Thunder Volleyball Club and seeing her on the other side of the court while coaching another high school team.
“Coaching against her in high school [volleyball] was slightly less fun,” said Reimer while smiling. “Coaching her is a lot more fun.”
Reimer said the team said she is “empathetic,” and that shines when she plays, coaches and interacts with new recruits.
Oxland said she is looking forward to continuing her studies, traveling and coaching once leaving the ‘Birds.
“I am filled with a lot of sadness [about leaving],” said Oxland. “At the same time, I’m super grateful for what this program has given to me — the coaches, the players — absolutely everything has been such a dream.”
Cara Kovacs
Kovacs came to UBC in 2018 after coming off the same national championship win as Oxland, in addition to being named a Volleyball BC all star.
She played in 229 sets and garnered 470 kills over four seasons with a 0.212 hitting percentage. She also racked up 198 digs during her time at UBC and was named a Canada West second team all star in 2022.
Reimer celebrated Kovacs and her dedication to community by highlighting her work as the head coach of the West Point Grey Academy senior girls volleyball team for the past three years.
Reimer said the team couldn’t pick just one word to describe her, but they all nodded when someone said “she exudes sunshine.”
“Thank you very much for five great years,” said Reimer.
Kovacs, an integrated science student and four-time Academic All Canadian, said she is looking forward to the future and hopes to attend UBC medical school in the future. Kovacs will “probably have the highest graduating average ever from a T-Bird” with over 96 per cent, according to Reimer.
“Obviously tonight didn’t end the way we wanted it to on the court, but I’m still glad and proud to have played with this team — the team we have now and the women who came before — it’s been a really amazing experience here at UBC.”
UBC women’s volleyball will be hosting U Sports Nationals from March 17 to 19 at War Memorial Gym. The T-Birds kick off their championship run at 6 p.m. in the quarterfinals versus the second seeded Brock Badgers.