The Ontario Volleyball Association has announced the 10 members of their 19U squad for the summer training and competition season, and uOttawa’s sophomore middle Alix Durivage was on the list. With the selection, she now has a busy summer training schedule ahead of her.

Team Ontario’s Indoor Provincial Team Program began with a three day tryout this past weekend at the University of Toronto, and will continue in July with a final provincial team training session before travelling to Winnipeg for the National Team Challenge Cup (NTCC).

At the NTCC, athletes from all over Canada will participate in a two-day training camp headlined by National Team coaches starting on July 17. The camp will include position specific training, team training, and sport science presentations. The NTCC tournament will begin on July 19 and end on July 22 and will include teams representing other provinces from all over Canada.

Durivage, who hails from Ottawa and played her club volleyball with the Mavericks, was a member of the 18U provincial team last summer, capturing silver at the NTCC. “Last year was amazing to see all the levels of volleyball from the different provinces, to get advice from national team players, and to compare yourself to high level athletes,” she recounts.

Now that she’s made her second provincial team, the next goal is clear in Durivage’s mind. “Everyone this year is fighting for a spot on the Canada Games team next year. It’s pushing us to work harder and get better to perform well at the Games.”

Getting onto the national radar has been a long road for the 6-foot-1 athlete. She had attended tryouts for the provincial team in 2010, but experienced the disappointment of being cut.

“I was underage, and I didn’t get invited to the camp,” she explains. “I went to the open tryout and it was intimidating. It was a reality check that even though I was working hard, to accomplish your goal you have to push yourself at everything and give the time. You have to give all the time you have towards that goal.”

The human kinetics student saw limited playing time in her first year with the Gee-Gees, playing behind veteran middle Kathryn Weihrer and Team Ontario alumna Kelsie English. Durivage entered 19 sets and posted an impressive .750 hitting percentage and three service aces in opportunities on the floor. Coach Woods knows that she is ready to contribute more to the team, and will be looking to create more ways to mix the talented Durivage into the lineup.

One person always in the stands to support her is her father, a volleyball standout at Algonquin College who taught her the game after she missed making her grade seven school team. “We found a gym and went every Wednesday,” remembers Alix.

After learning the basics of the game, her father then instilled in her the hard-working mentality which has carried her to the provincial team. “He believes in striving for success, and he’s affected how I see things. Both my parents have been incredibly supportive.”