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Meet the Team
"There are only two options regarding commitment; you're either in or you're out. - Pat Riley
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This team is all in.
Val Watson, CPA
Club Executive
Val brings an extensive level business acumen to the Summit Executive. As a Partner with an international accounting firm, Val has been instrumental in helping to develop Summit Volleyball Inc into a strong business entity. Her background in business, combined with her experiences in sport make her a great leader for this organization. Val is a former athlete herself, and now mom to 3 strong girls all of who are making waves through various sport channels.
Kaylan Gazda, BEd, CSEP
Coach / Club Executive
Dev Coach Certified
Advanced Dev Coach Certified
B.Ed of Elementary Education
Canfitpro Certified Personal Trainer
NCCP Trained Fundamental Movement Coach
NCCP Trained Run Jump Throw Coach
NCCP Trained Ultimate Frisbee Coach
NCCP Keeping Girls in Sport
NCCP Respect in Sport
Kaylan has been an athlete for as long as she can remember. Growing up on a farm in rural Alberta, she participated in as many different sport programs as she could, but fell in love with the sport of volleyball when she began playing club in grade 6. Throughout Jr High and High School, Kaylan played 6 years of Provincial Team and competed in both Western Canada Summer Games and Canada Summer Games. Kaylan went on to play varsity women’s volleyball for the MacEwan Griffins, as well as the University of Alberta Pandas. (This included a second place at CCAA Nationals and a first place at CIS now USport Nationals.)
Kaylan began coaching volleyball in university and discovered a whole new side to the sport. Twenty years later, after 2 knee surgeries and 2 babies, she is still in the gym coaching either club, academy, clinics, or helping out with Sask Provincial team training. She is passionate about supporting athletes, coaches, and building community within the sport of volleyball. When she is not in the gym, you can find her hanging with her family, or still competing in sport herself playing either volleyball, or ultimate frisbee. Kaylan is an advocate for women in sport and is proud to be a part of Summit Volleyball!
Stacey Laing, BKin
Coach / Club Executive
Dev Coach Certified
Advanced Dev Certified
Performance Coach In Training
Coach Developer In Training
Coach Evaluator In Training
Stacey has over 20 years of combined coach and player experience with the sport of volleyball. Stacey played high school volleyball with Carlton Comprehensive high school, was selected to 4 Sask Provincial Teams, and played with the University of Saskatchewan Huskies for the 2006/07 season. She was the recipient of the Laurie Anne Leier Athletic and Academic Excellence Memorial Award through the Sask Volleyball Association.
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Stacey's most recent coaching experiences include the 18U Summit club team, Sask Volleyball provincial teams (2021-present), and assistant coach of the University of Regina Cougars women's volleyball for the 2022/23 season.
Her focus and greatest knowledge base is with setting and she is eager to help develop young setters.
Stacey has a bachelors degree in Kinesiology and has spent time working in Spinal Cord rehab, Sport Admin, and most recently 9+ years with the Dream Broker program through Sask Sport. Currently, she spends her time at the Volleybarn behind the scenes of the facility, Regina Youth Volleyball, and Summit.
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Don Laing
Mentor Coach
A phrase we use a lot at Summit is WWDLD? AKA what would Don Laing do? Don is Summit Volleyball's mentor coach and program consultant.
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Don started coaching volleyball in 1978. He coached the provincial teams in the 1980s, school teams from 1979 until 2012 and club teams for 25 years. He also coached one season with the U of S Huskies 1984-85 as an assistant coach with head coach Frank Enns. He is presently retired and doing marathons, triathlon and bike touring. Don was also the past Saskatchewan Volleyball Association Coaching Pathway Coordinator.
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Don has a true passion for developing and mentoring coaches. You'll see him hanging out in the Volleybarn but also working with coaches from many different clubs and throughout the province.
Karolyn Gilroy, BEd
Coach
Advanced Dev Certified
Karolyn has been involved in volleyball for many years and in many different capacities. A long standing playing career including club, Provincial teams, 1997 Canada Games team (including a gold medal at the Australian Junior National Championships), and a 5 year career with the U of R Cougars. During her time as a Cougar she was a 3X Conference All Star and led the team in blocks.
As a coach Karolyn has spent A LOT of time in the gym including summer camps, high school and club teams, and a U21 team that placed second at Junior Nationals.
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We are grateful to have Karolyn in the gym for the past three seasons. Her care and focus on not only the technical aspects but also the mental side of the game are unmatched.
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What matters to Karolyn the most is that we are learning, growing, having fun and building a supportive community for all to thrive in.
Alissa McKinna, BEd
Coach
Development Certified
Advanced Dev Certified
Alissa has been coaching Volleyball for over 20 years, including the last three seasons with Summit. She also currently coaches Volleyball at Winston Knoll Collegiate where she is a Physical Education Teacher and Athletic Director.
Prior to becoming a Teacher, Alissa was a dual sport athlete at Minot State University where she played both volleyball and softball while pursuing her Education Degree.
While at Minot State, she also served as a Graduate Assistant coach for both sports while completing her Masters's Degree in Learning Disabilities.
Alissa is a passionate and enthusiastic volleyball coach and is excited to share that passion with her athletes - including her own children, who are both a part of the Summit Volleyball program.
Diana Lumbala
Coach
Development Coach - In Training
Diana is from Moose Jaw, SK and has an impressive volleyball background as an athlete which includes multiple years of club, Provincial team, and is a 5 year U of R Cougar Womens Volleyball alum. She finished her time at the U of R ranked seventh in school rally-point era history in kills (700) and eighth in blocks (161).
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As Diana transitions from playing and into her coaching era she has a highly trained eye that allows her to support young athletes in such a meaningful way! We're lucky to have Diana leading the 15UW crew this season and can't wait to see all the great things she will do as a coach!
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Mira Van Burck, BEd
Coach
Development Certified
Mira is from Star City, Saskatchewan. She started playing volleyball with North East Rage and continued at Luther College High School in Regina, Saskatchewan where she was captain and MVP in Grade 11 and 12. For club season she played outside with the Cougar Volleyball Club.
In her summers she played Team Saskatchewan including the year Saskatchewan won bronze at the 2011 Western Canada Summer Games. For post secondary, Mira was co-captain at Trent University for one year in Peterborough, ON.
Mira began her coaching career with the Pandas Volleyball Club in Edmonton, AB and has now been at Summit for the last four years with a range of age groups.
Ashlee Sandiford
Coach
Bio Coming Soon.
Emma Grimsrud
Coach
Bio coming soon.
Hayley Cattell
Coach
Bio Coming Soon.
Britt Rousseaux
Coach
Bio Coming Soon.
Alana Dureault, BEd (Centre)
Coach
Bio coming soon.
Erin Andrews (Right)
Coach
Bio Coming Soon.
Jennifer Lockwood (Left)
Coach
Jen is from Wilcox Saskatchewan and played high school volleyball grades 9-12, along with many other sports, at Athol Murray College of Notre Dame. After spending a year at the University of Regina rehabbing a knee injury she went to play volleyball for a school in Oklahoma for a year and then transferred to Valley City State University to finish off her University.
After returning to Canada she started coaching at Notre Dame and spent 6 years there coaching and winning a Provincial Bronze. With coaching she found a new passion for a game she already loves.
She hasn’t coached since 2016 and has since gotten married and had a baby but she is ready to come back to the game and help girls develop and excel in a game they love.
Mark Harrison
Coach
Development Certified
Bio coming soon.
Andrew Nelson, BEd (Left)
Coach
Advanced Dev Certified
Andrew was born and raised in Regina. As an athlete, he played three years of his eligibility with the University of Regina Men’s Volleyball Team and two years with the University of Saskatchewan Men’s Volleyball Team, winning CIS Rookie of the Year and being selected to the Jr National Team in 2012. Andrew earned a B.Sc in Kinesiology from the University of Saskatchewan in 2017 and a B.Ed from the University of Regina in 2021.
Since he completed his university career, Andrew has been coaching year round. For the past five years he has spent the fall coaching Campbell’s senior boys team and the Volleyball Canada Regional Excellence Program. In the winter he has coached club teams from 15u to 18u. In the summer, he coaches beach volleyball and has recently begun coaching for Sask Volleyball’s provincial team.
Coach Andrew believes that sport is a great tool for developing and refining life skills in youth, as high performance sport fosters high performance citizens. Skills such as accountability, filling a role on a team, and effective goal setting are just a few. He looks forward to working with another great group of young volleyball players this year!
Marcus Roflick, BEd
Coach
As an athlete, Marcus played for RVC and with Team Saskatchewan before transitioning to the post-secondary level. There, he played 2 seasons, one being with the University of Regina Mens Volleyball Team and the other being with the Red Deer College Kings Mens Volleyball Team. Marcus is currently working as a physical education teacher at St. Gabriel Elementary School.
As a coach, Marcus has had the opportunity to work with the Leboldus Senior Boys Volleyball Team for 3 seasons. Additionally, he has previously coached the RVC 16u and 15u mens teams.
Ryan Bohn
Coach
Development Certified
As a coach and athlete, Ryan has been involved with volleyball for the past
35-plus years. Ryan grew up in Yorkton playing on the last of Dennis
Pomeroy's dominant dynasty teams, capturing 3 provincial and club
championships. At the Saskatchewan provincial level, he was a member of
the 1995 Western Canada Games and the 1997 Canada Games teams. Ryan
had a 5 year career at the University of Regina earning GPAC Rookie of the
Year and CIAU All-Rookie team honours.
Ryan was also an assistant coach at the U of R and co-coached the Wascana
SIAST Wildcats, winning a league championship and then runners-up in
back-to-back seasons.
Ryan has coached at a number of youth volleyball programs in Regina including Miller High School Jr Boys (2024 Silver RHSAA Championship), Ruth Pawson Panthers, ICP Regina Youth Volleyball, RVC, and QCVC 13UW Purple team (Div 2 Provincial Gold 2024).
In his spare time, he gives back
by volunteering as the President of Regina Mixed Volleyball league for the
past 3 years.
Ryan draws from experiences from a large group of Saskatchewan elite coaches which he played for or coached with. Tony Hayden, Denis
Pomeroy, David Baron, Tom Gulak, Daren Teneyke, Darwin Daae, Scott
Schutz, Brian Gavlas, Tom Graham, Rob Hoffman and Greg Barthel. Ryan
is inspired by the coaching philosophies of Duke legend Mike Krzyzewski
and football great Nick Saban. The pillars of this are being detail-oriented
and being accountable. Ryan believes the lessons learned on and off the
court lead to future career and life successes. Ryan is proud to inspire
today’s young athletes with the values and mindsets to achieve their goals
on and off the court. Most importantly he values the relationships forged on
and off the court through volleyball that endure long after our times on the
courts have ended.
Jennifer McConnell-Nzunga
Coach
Development Certified
Jennifer grew up in Regina where she played club volleyball with RVC before she went to the U.S. to play 2 years with the NCAA Division 1 Mississippi Valley State University Devilettes and 2 years with the NAIA Kansas Wesleyan University Coyotes as a middle. Jennifer was named S.W.A.C. Rookie of the week and listed as K.C.A.C. all-conference honourable mention, as well as earning a Distinguished Scholar Award, President’s Scholar Award, 3 x President’s Honour Roll, and an N.A.I.A. Academic All-American award. Jennifer’s coaching experience includes 1 year as an assistant coach at the NJCAA Vernon College, 2 years as a graduate assistant coach in the NCAA Division 1 at Youngstown State University, 1 term as a sessional lecturer for the Advanced Volleyball and Officiating course at the University of Victoria, as well as coaching summer camps, providing private lessons, and ultimately joining the Summit Volleyball team for the Summit Academy in 2024 and as an assistant coach with the Summit 15UW team for the 2024-2025 season.
Coming soon.
Coming soon.