Taryn Hannah, pictured here in action for the Brandon University Bobcats. (Submitted photo/Brandon University Athletics)

By Martin Martinson

Hannah makes impact

Former Vikings standout reflects on first semester at Brandon University

Dec 2, 2021 | 10:00 AM

It was a first semester of University volleyball Battlefords local Taryn Hannah will likely not soon forget.

After committing to Brandon University for the fall of 2021 late last year, even Hannah couldn’t have expected just how things would work out heading into her first home game with the team.

Expecting full-well to spend at least majority of the season strictly watching the action, learning from the older members of the team and practicing with the club, plans all changed just days ahead of Brandon’s home opener earlier this month against the University of Saskatchewan.

Just two days prior to the team’s first game in front of the home crowd, the Bobcats’ starting left-side — a fifth year — rolled her ankle, leading to Hannah being thrown into the starting lineup for a proverbial baptism by fire.

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“It was awesome, but it was very unexpected,” Hannah said, reflecting back. “My role was initially going to be that I wasn’t going to start or maybe even play that weekend, and then I just got thrown into it. But it ended up going really well and was really exciting and obviously a great opportunity.”

Hannah would go on to post 13 digs and eight kills, a number that would steadily grow to 12, 10 and then 11 by her final three games.

A veteran of many years spent playing the game, including at the high school, club, and provincial level, Hannah said likely the biggest adjustment off the hop was the sheer speed of the game at the post-secondary level.

“The volume of everything is just a lot more intense; the speed of the game is so much faster, so at the start it was a huge adjustment to make, but I feel like I’ve improved greatly with the help of my teammates,” she said. “All the feedback I’ve received from my captains and coaches has just made it so easy to adjust to the new speed of the game.”

In six games this year, Hannah sits second on the team in kills with 48 and kills per-set with 2.18 as a freshman.

Hannah’s former coach at North Battleford Comprehensive High School, and with the Battlefords Volleyball Club, Jana Friedenstab said it’s been something special to watch her make the jump to the U-Sports level and make an immediate impact for her team.

“It usually doesn’t happen; first years don’t usually get to see a lot of court time,” she said. “I think [Hannah] was always a really great attacker and great server, but I’m hearing that her passing game has really stepped up too, so that’s pretty impressive, and it’s great to see.”

Hannah and her Bobcats’ teammates will return to action in the New Year, January 14, 2022, against the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1