The UBC Okanagan Heat have added another quality recruit for next men’s volleyball season.
Heat head coach Greg Poitras has signed middle blocker Josh Harvey from Alberta.
Harvey is a six-footer who will graduate from Cochrane High in June. He carries a 90 per cent average and has been accepted in the Engineering program at UBC’s Okanagan campus.
“I chose UBC Okanagan based on my interest in both the engineering and volleyball programs,” said Harvey, who is already aware of the academic advantages of going to a smaller university.
“From my perspective the university offers an excellent learning environment with good professors, small classroom sizes and a reputable degree.”
Poitras thinks the Albertan will be a perfect fit to his roster, and is the start of a strong nucleus of middle blockers.
“Josh is a great addition to our 11/12 class as he will provide competition to our other young middles,” said Poitras.
The Heat are losing only Mark Broome from the middle spot, but fellow Cochrane native Brett Uniat will be playing in his final year at the position so the need to rebuild that spot on the court is now.
Poitras likes Harvey’s upside and his work ethic, adding that: “Josh has a very positive attitude and is a very hard worker. He has good size and a great frame for volleyball. He’s trained with Dinos Volleyball Club out of Calgary under some very well-respected coaches. He loves to train and is an outstanding teammate.”
Harvey is up for the challenge of university ball.
“The volleyball program is also very inviting as the coaching staff brings great experience and knowledge. Overall I see many great opportunities to succeed at the UBC Okanagan.”
The other players that have committed to join the Heat in the fall for Poitras are: Jim Bell (middle, Surrey), Alex Swiatlowski (outside, Victoria) and setter Kristof Schlagintweit (Abbotsford).
