In just her second season of eligibility, outside hitter Raya Surinx has earned the Mary Lyons Award as the player of the year in U SPORTS Women's Volleyball. Surinx becomes the first Bison to receive this honour since Rachel Cockrell in 2015, and the sixth Bison overall, following Kathy Preston (2002), Louise Wlock (1998), Loriann Sawatzky (1995) and Michelle Sawatzky (1991 and 1992).
Surinx was dominant in 2023-24, leading the nation in kills with 388 – 70 more than anyone else – despite missing the last two games of league play. She also led the country with 4.85 kills per set, helping Manitoba to a regular season program record of 20 wins.
Surinx tallied a regular season career high of 24 kills against Winnipeg at the beginning of February, and she notched at least 20 kills on six different occasinos, including 21 against UBCO on December 2nd, the fifth-most in a three-set CanWest match.
At the service line, Surinx recorded at least three aces in five different matches, including a career-high eight on November 18 against Mount Royal, the third most in a five-set Canada West match. Her 40 aces overall were sixth in the nation.
Surinx's 388 kills are the eighth most in a Canada West season, and the second most by a Bison in the rally scoring era (Cockrell had 471 in 2014-15). Her kills per set average is also the second-most in a season in the rally scoring era, just behind Cockrell (5.06).
In just two years, Surinx's 84 career regular season aces are already the second-most in Bisons history in the rally scoring era and 18th all-time in school history. Meanwhile, her 671 career kills place her 20th all-time in school history.
"Those of us that see Raya every day are not surprised in her recognition, as she maximizes her talent both on the court and in the weight room," said head coach Ken Bentley.
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"She is highly coachable, selfless, is an amazing teammate, and does her very best every single day. Her consistency in training reflects her performance throughout her time with us these past two years."
