The College of the Rockies Avalanche volleyball program announced on Tuesday that they had signed Claire Sheppard, a 6’1 outside hitter from St. John’s, Newfoundland.
The sixth member of the women’s team’s 2017-18 recruiting class, Sheppard committed to Avs after completing her final season at Gonzaga Regional High School. The school won the under-18 provincial championship and also had the honour of representing her province at the 2017 Canada Games, where she was named one of the 12 players on Team Newfoundland.
“I’m over the moon to be a part of the Avalanche program and I’m ready to start the next chapter of my life in Cranbrook,” Sheppard said in a team press release. She will be enrolled in the Social Work Pre-Major Associate Degree program at College of the Rockies starting in September 2018.
“We are very excited to have Claire become a student athlete at College of the Rockies,” said head coach John Swanson. “I was grateful to be introduced to her through our men’s coach, Cisco Ferraro, who had worked with Claire in summer volleyball camps previously.”
“Claire will be a great addition to our team, based not only on her current level of play but, more importantly, her willingness to train, learn and develop her skill set. We are appreciative of the tremendous commitment that Claire has made in coming to Cranbrook from Newfoundland and know that she will instantly connect with her new teammates, school and community.”
Other new recruits for COTR next season include Julie-Anna Schaar, Abigail Taggart, Cate Sykes, Katie Anderson and Sam Lautrup.