Estevan's Jenna Knibbs secures volleyball scholarship

ESTEVAN - A talented young volleyball player from Estevan will be playing in the U.S. next season.

Jenna Knibbs, who is currently in Grade 12 at the Estevan Comprehensive School, has committed to play for the George Fox University Bruins, an NCAA Division 3 school located in Newberg, Ore. An outside hitter, Knibbs cited numerous reasons for selecting the school.

"It was really unexpected for me to go play at George Fox," Knibbs said in an interview with the Mercury and SaskToday. "I was always looking for a team that was outside [Saskatchewan], in the States or somewhere else in Canada because I've always wanted to go on an adventure outside of home."

Knibbs had previous contact with George Fox coach Emily Davis about the school. She was visiting with her grandparents in Oregon when she was invited to visit the campus.

"It was the perfect atmosphere. It felt so much like family. It's a Christian school and the coach was so nice. I got to sit down with some of the girls."

Knibbs will be studying biochemistry at George Fox, and she hopes to attend medical school one day.

"The class sizes at George Fox are really small, so I'll be able to have lots of connections with my profs, and they have a really good lab-to-theory ratio at their school, so I'm really excited for that because I love lots of hands-on labs, and definitely lots of science," said Knibbs.

She will be just 2 1/2 hours from her grandparents' home, and her brother James is just a few hours away in B.C.

Athletics are a big part of the school, she said. The women's volleyball team has done really well in their conference. She has talked with the other incoming first-year players, and she has interacted with other future teammates.

"We had a Zoom call just a few weeks ago to get to know everybody," said Knibbs.

According to Knibbs, Davis is looking for players who not only want to be on the volleyball team, but want to get to know the other girls and create a tight-knit team.

Knibbs is currently playing for the Regina Cougars club volleyball team, and commutes from Estevan to Regina to practise. They will be competing at nationals during the Victoria Day long weekend. She has played in Estevan at the school and club level, and has also competed for the Arcola-based Southeast Vipers.

Knibbs has been with the ECS Elecs senior girls' volleyball team for three years and has been a captain for the past two.

"From when I've been really young, I've loved my coaches here," she said. "They definitely taught me the initial tactical skills that I needed to get to where I am today. It's definitely been a huge supportive environment with all of the coaches at the school."

Tamara Franklin, in particular, helped Knibbs become the athlete she is today by picking Knibbs to be on the senior team when Knibbs was in Grade 10.

Once her season with the Cougars is finished, Knibbs looks forward to playing some beach volleyball, spending a lot of time in the gym and doing what she can to be ready for the upcoming season.