When Sydney Umlah was in Grade 9 in Maple Ridge, BC, she was already 5’10" tall. So, when she decided to take up volleyball, it was a natural fit.

“I walked into tryouts, never really playing that much before, and I made the team,” she says. "I learned a lot that year and I picked up new skills as the season went on.”

Drawn to the game because of her Dad’s love of the sport, Umlah says that the team aspect is what she enjoys most.

“You need a lot of teamwork to play volleyball and everyone has to work so well together to get anything done,” she says. “You have to really rely on your teammates and that’s what I like most about the sport. There is not just one star in volleyball.”

The fourth-year biology student and middle blocker was recently named the MVP of the volleyball team for the second consecutive year and was named an ACAA 1st team all-star for the first time. The past two seasons she has been an ACAA 2nd team all-star. She was the team’s rookie of the year in 2013.

Umlah led the Mounties to a five-set quarterfinal victory over UNBSJ at the 2016 ACAA Volleyball Championships.

“That win was one of my favourite volleyball moments at Mount A,” she says. “There was so much energy and noise in the gym. It was exciting.”

Umlah also credits the team’s final home win this season versus STU as another memorable moment of her volleyball career.

“It was a good game for the team as a whole and everybody was able to really come together,” she says.

As Umlah prepares to graduate in a few weeks, she says that being a student-athlete at Mount Allison has brought her a great group of friends and a support system. Training, travelling, and playing up to 25 hours a week also taught her time management skills.

“I love that feeling of being a part of a team and it has just been fun,” she says.

Umlah plans to return to BC after graduation and stay in the field of biology.