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Avalanche setter steps up to CIS volleyball

COTR Avalanche squad losing setter Nick Schmidt to bigger and better things.
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Nick Schmidt will be putting his volleyball skills to use with the UBC Okanagan Heat next sesaon.

The Avs are losing setter Nick Schmidt to bigger and better things.

Schmidt has stepped up from Pacwest to CIS volleyball, signing on with the UBC Okanagan men's team for the 2014-15 season.

The Avs have enjoyed the services of Schmidt for the last two years after head coach Steve Kamps recruited him right out of high school in Calgary.

This past season, Schmidt and his team captured a bronze medal at the Pacwest provincial championship and he also picked up player of the match honours in the semi-final.

"I watched Nick during this past Pacwest season and immediately felt he would help our program right away," said Greg Poitras, head coach for the Heat.

Schmidt has a high volleyball IQ and strong leadership skills developed over his tenure with the Avalanche under the direction of Kamps.

"Coach Steve Kamps is a close coaching colleague of mine and I know he has prepared him well for CIS volleyball," said Poitras. "Nick is a determined athlete and has proven to be a great teammate in post-secondary volleyball."

The Avs setter has spent the last two years studying pre-engineering in the transfer program at the College of the Rockies, however, it has always been his plan to transfer to UBC Okanagan sciences program and try to further his volleyball career.

"When I came down for a recruiting trip in March, I knew UBCO was the right fit," Schmidt said. "The team and coaching staff seemed focused on getting better and winning and I wanted to be a part of that."