Kiera Van Ryk (born January 6, 1999) is a Canadian volleyball player. She is part of the Canadian women's national volleyball team.[1] She participated at the 2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship, 2018 Women's Pan-American Volleyball Cup, and 2019 FIVB Volleyball Women's Challenger Cup.[2][3]
| Kiera Van Ryk | |||||||||||||||||||||
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 Van Ryk in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Canadian | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 6, 1999 New Westminster, British Columbia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Hometown | Surrey, British Columbia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Spike | 302 cm (119 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Block | 288 cm (113 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| College / University | University of British Columbia | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Volleyball information | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Outside hitter | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Current club | VakıfBank S.K. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 3 (national team) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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| Last updated: 12 August 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||
University career
editVan Ryk played two seasons of U Sports women's volleyball for the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds from 2017 to 2019.[4] She finished her rookie season by winning a Bronze medal at the 2018 U Sports Women's Volleyball Championship.[5] In her second year, she had an outstanding season as she won the Mary Lyons Award as the best U Sports women's volleyball player that year and won the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Award as the best female athlete in all of U Sports for the 2018–19 season.[6] With the Thunderbirds that year, she won a national championship as the team won the 2019 U Sports Women's Volleyball Championship and Van Ryk was named the Tournament MVP.[7]
Professional career
editVan Ryk left university to become a professional athlete by signing with Volley Bergamo of the Italian Women's Volleyball League Serie A1 in 2019.[5] She left Volley Bergamo and returned to Canada in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[8] She then joined KS DevelopRes Rzeszów of the Tauron Liga for the 2020–21 season.[9] For the 2021–22 season, she played for Türk Hava Yolları SK of the Turkish Women's Volleyball League.[10]
Van Ryk joined Turkish club VakıfBank S.K. in 2024.[11]
Personal life
editVan Ryk attended Surrey Christian School and has two older sisters, Jocelyn and Amy.[12] She is also an avid dog lover.[13]
References
edit- ^ "Kiera Van Ryk". Volleyball Canada. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ "Roster released for the 2018 Women's FIVB World Championships". Volleyball Canada. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ "Kiera Van Ryk". www.volleyball.world. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ "Kiera Van Ryk - Women's Volleyball". UBC Thunderbirds. Retrieved April 6, 2021.
- ^ a b "Kiera Van Ryk signs professional contract in Italy". UBC Thunderbirds. July 3, 2019.
- ^ "Laval's Betts, UBC's Van Ryk capture inaugural Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards Presented by Makadiff Sports". U Sports. May 2, 2019.
- ^ "Gold Medal Game: T-Birds flying again as national champions". U Sports. March 18, 2019.
- ^ "Home from Italy, Surrey volleyball player set for action with national team". Surrey Now-Leader. June 9, 2020.
- ^ "The Next Big Thing in Volleyball: Kiera Van Ryk". CEV Women's Champions League. February 19, 2021.
- ^ "TUR W: THY startle Fenerbahçe, new defeat worries Eczacıbaşı fans". worldofvolley.com. October 23, 2021.
- ^ WorldofVolley. "TUR W: VakıfBank Signs Kiera Van Ryk for the 2024/2025 Season". WorldofVolley. Retrieved 12 August 2024.
- ^ "Surrey's Van Ryk shines as one of Canada's best young volleyball players". Surrey Now-Leader. October 24, 2018.
- ^ "Thunderbird outside hitter Kiera Van Ryk is back leading the T-Birds after whirlwind summer with Volleyball Canada". The Ubyssey. January 25, 2019.
Exteneral links
edit- Kiera Van Ryk at Volleyball Canada
- Kiera Van Ryk at the European Volleyball Confederation
- Kiera Van Ryk at Lega Pallavolo Serie A Femminile (in Italian)
