The Sault’s Liz Gavey is proud to be the first recruit for the Sault College Cougars women’s volleyball team.
The college announced in March that women's volleyball will be added to the post secondary institution’s varsity athletics programs.
The Sault College Cougars women’s volleyball team will begin competing in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA) at the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year led by experienced coach Becky Grisdale.
“I was told that Sault College might be getting a volleyball team so I thought if there was a possibility I could be on that team I’ll stay in the Sault and go to college here. I truly do not want to leave the Sault no matter what,” Gavey said in an interview with SooToday.
Gavey, 18, is a St. Mary’s College graduate who is no stranger to sports.
Her father Aaron Gavey was a member of the Memorial Cup-winning Soo Greyhounds team in 1993. He later played for six NHL teams.
Liz was born in Germany where her father played hockey for one season, arriving in Canada with her family when she was six months old.
“I played competitive civic soccer from when I was four until I was 15. I’ve played every sport in the book. I’ve played soccer, hockey, did gymnastics and figure skating. When I started playing volleyball I really pushed myself. I loved my teammates and my coach and I decided I wanted to continue with it,” Gavey said.
Reflecting on her athletic achievements so far, Gavey said that prior to signing with the new Sault College Cougars women’s volleyball team in November her biggest moment in sports was winning the St. Mary's College top female athlete award for 2023-24.
“My volleyball coach Cam Coulter told me in Grade 10 ‘if you really pursue this I’ll get you a scholarship,’” said Gavey, who currently plays volleyball for the Steel City Ignite Inferno.
Sault College coaching staff also encouraged her to get involved in varsity volleyball.
She signed a letter of intent with the college in November and received a scholarship to play for the Cougars beginning in the fall of 2025.
“It didn’t occur to me when I first started playing volleyball that I would take this to the next level. I started playing and people from colleges and universities watched me play. They came up to me and said ‘we’re interested in you.’ Then I realized ‘this is actually real. This is something I could do in post secondary,’” Gavey said.
As a Sault College student, Gavey will be enrolled in the school’s Police Foundations program.
“I remember Constable Emily Coccimiglio, my friend’s mom, came to my elementary school and told us about police work. I started getting into it, researching it and then I decided I really want to be a cop.”
Gavey said that as a police officer she would like to work with victims of crime in a supportive role.
As she looks forward to devoting time to her studies, Gavey said she is eager to get on to the volleyball court as a Cougar.
“I think playing any sport at the post secondary level is very motivating. I’m going to enjoy travelling to tournaments. I don’t think anybody thought this would turn out the way it has because I just started playing volleyball three years ago. This feels pretty good.”
Gavey's signing with the Cougars was reported on Spaces, Sault Ste. Marie's very own social network now live on SooToday.