More Yukon volleyball players than ever are hitting the court at the college or university level this fall.

At least five Yukoners will be competing in either the Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) or under the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) banner, while one former Yukon resident Jake Cabott ñ� wrapped up five years at the University of British Columbia (UBC) last spring and will now play pro volleyball in Sweden.

The athletes hail from all three local high schools Porter Creek, Vanier and F.H. Collins and four of them will be living rather close to one another, as Naomi Gladish and Ben Chief suit up for UBC Okanagan in Kelowna, while Mitchell Anderson and Karalyn MacKenzie represent Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops.

Former Old Crow resident Jeffrey Peter had planned to play at TRU this year as well, but has now decided to take at least a semester off and concentrate on his studies.

Gladish believes the upcoming 2007 Canada Winter Games have played a role in the improvement seen in Yukon volleyball.

'Volleyball Yukon has raised the level in preparation for the Canada Games,' she said in an interview from Kelowna. 'Plus, with the addition of Super Volley and all the trips the teams have been taking ... they're just really building volleyball up in the Yukon and making people want to play after high school.

'And they're making us good enough I guess, so that we can.'

Gladish chose to play for UBC Okanagan for a couple of reasons. First, her mom is from the Kelowna area, so she has spent a lot of time there in the past. She also likes the fact that as of this year, it's under the UBC umbrella, which means more opportunities academically.

Plus, said the arts student, Sukh Sandhu, the executive-director of Volleyball Yukon and a coach at Porter Creek, recommended Gladish to the university's coach, Steve Manuel.

Gladish underwent six days of tryouts earlier this month and will spend her season as a red-shirt, or alternate, for the women's team.

'I played as well as I could have and I'm happy with the results,' she said. 'There are four strong power hitters on the team, so even if I had made the roster, I probably would have been on the bench all year, which would have used up a year of my eligibility (years athletes can play at the college level).

'I'm happy being a red-shirt, because then I don't take a year of eligibility, so I still have four years left.'

Gladish will still practice and travel with the team, she just won't dress for games. She expects that along with the two other red-shirts, she will spend some time doing stats for the games.

Gladish, who recently represented the Yukon at the Canada Summer Games, said being in Regina helped her prepare for the level of volleyball she's experienced so far in Kelowna.

'I wasn't overwhelmed,' she said, although when asked about her teammates, Gladish laughed. 'They're tall. There's some really tall girls and heavy hitters. They're all really nice, though. They're really friendly to the rookies. It's a really tight group.'

Coming off a season in which they went undefeated at home, taking silver at the BCCAA championships and grabbing one of two wild-cards to the national college volleyball championships, Gladish and the Lakers will be looking for gold this time around.

Chief will be part of a Lakers men's squad that is in the process of rebuilding, under new head coach Greg Poitras.

It will also be an interesting season for Anderson and MacKenzie, as TRU makes the jump from CCAA competition to the CIS for the first time this year.

The WolfPack are coming off a very successful season in both men's and women's volleyball, with the men grabbing a bronze medal at the national championships. The women were provincial champions but didn't fair quite as well at nationals, finishing seventh.

Both teams will officially open the season with two games against the University of Alberta Pandas, October 21 and 22, but will take part in the Sask Cup at the University of Saskatchewan Oct. 7-9 as part of exhibition.

'We did very well last year,' said women's head coach Carrie Barrett, in an interview from Kamloops. 'Now, we're playing at a more difficult level. It's kind of like starting all over again. Now we're playing against the big dogs, so to speak. The CIS is very competitive and we're in what I would consider the toughest conference, being in Canada West.

'But it still looks like we have a shot at doing well.'

The Wolves will have six returning players this year and five new players. Of the five added, four are from other colleges, so only one is a freshman.

'So a lot of our players have a lot of experience, just not at the CIS level,' explained Barrett. 'They add a lot of strength.

'The six returning players, now that they know what it takes to win, they're ready for the next season.'

MacKenzie is making her return to TRU after taking last year off. She was there for two seasons previously. Barrett, who is entering her sixth season as coach at TRU, spoke very highly of the Yukon athlete.

'She's great. She's very self-motivated, communicates so well with her teammates, just an all-around good player with a great work ethic. She's just a gem.

'Karalyn is definitely one of our top players and her returning this year was very important for us. She's going to be a big part of our success.'

MacKenzie is sitting out right now with a back injury, but Barrett expects she will be ready to go in time for the Sask Cup in a couple of weeks. Once everyone is healthy, the Wolves will be aiming for the top.

'I never coach any other way but to win,' stated Barrett, though she admitted it may be tough against giants like the Pandas and the University of Calgary Dinos. 'I'm really focused on the process, not the outcome. Every weekend is a playoff game.'

When MacKenzie opens the season in Edmonton, she may be up against a fellow Yukoner on the court. Melissa Laluk, who had an incredible season with the Red Deer College Queens last year and is hoping to make the starting rotation on the Pandas this fall.

Laluk led the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) with an average of 3.53 kills per set, and was in the top 15 for blocks and digs per set. She was also named to the first All-Star team at the national championships, where the Queens won silver.

Meanwhile, the Porter Creek boys senior volleyball team will get a chance to visit with Gladish and Chief, as they attend a high school tournament hosted by UBC Okanagan on Oct. 7.

Sandhu said a few of the Rams are potential recruits for the Kelowna university and the tournament should be exciting.