Fifth-year Faith Christensen joined the WolfPack Volleyball team knowing the program needed to be built up and she planned to be part of that. Now in her fifth year, Christensen has become an integral part of the record-breaking team, ranking second in blocks, third in solo blocks and ninth in sets played in program history while also joining a prestigious club as a five-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian. Christensen talked with The Omega’s sports editor about what it means to be a part of the WolfPack team that broke many program records and is about to host its first-ever home playoff game.
AL𝝮: You’ve been here and seen this team grow from a 2-10 team to now hosting its first-ever home playoff series. What’s that journey meant to you personally?
FC: Honestly, it’s been an experience of a lifetime. I came into this program knowing we were not a great team, and that it was a program that had to be built up. Now getting to that end goal of being a top team and hosting a playoff and breaking TRU records has been really cool.
AL𝝮: Within your season, 10 of your 14 wins as a team came in straight sets. Which is the most in program history. What do you think it says about the team as a whole?
FC: I didn’t even know that. That’s awesome. We’re determined this year, and I think that’s a difference that we’ve had between my other years here. My first couple years were kind of just here to have fun and play for a bit, and then this year we’re [here] to win [and] that shows in our gameplay. We show up, and we’re determined in our locker room. We’re ready to go. As soon as we step on the court, we’re ready to go. It’s just that determination that we have this year.
AL𝝮: Besides that determination, are there any other factors you find have been different this year?
FC: Our group’s been pretty similar to what it normally is. Our third years, specifically, Kira [Gent] and Maya [Cressy], have stepped up a ton. They were consistent last year as well, but this year they’ve just become a whole new beast. That’s been really good for us too, and just that maturity from all the players has been big because we’re a pretty old team now. We’ve got tons of fifth years, fourth years and third years, that maturity and [we have] experience now.
AL𝝮: You’re ending your career here being second in blocks, third in solo blocks and ninth in sets played in the entire program history. What do those accomplishments mean to you personally, seeing that you’ve done so much?
FC: It’s been pretty incredible to have those stats as well. The people above me were incredible players; to even just be in those top standings with them is really cool. To be in ninth for sets played and having been playing since my first year is a really big accomplishment for me and I’ll take that with me wherever I go.
AL𝝮: You’re going into a big game this weekend. What’s your mindset been when you go into these big games throughout your career?
FC: Very different mindsets from the last two years to this year. The past two years, we’ve gone to UBC for that quarter final, and the mindset was scared. Even if we didn’t wanna admit it, we were going into that game terrified because they beat us down every time we stepped into their gym, and we were a lower-ranked team than them going in. That’s always kinda the underdog mindset, but this time we’re higher ranked than the team that we’re playing and we’re playing a team that we’ve been performing well against for the past two years. We have some confidence this time, which is really good to have ’cause we’ve not had that the past two years.
AL𝝮: How has that mindset kind of shifted with the game being at home?
FC: Having our city to back us up, inevitably, that’s such a big piece of it because we have people cheering for us and we’re in our gym where we’re comfortable. We also have our fellow athletes there backing us up. Having that support from everyone else that can amp us up if we’re not feeling it, and it’s going to be super important.
AL𝝮: You guys are one of the best performing WolfPack teams of the year. How does it feel to you that the women’s teams have been kind of consistently better than most of the men’s teams over this last athletic season?
FC: I am the biggest advocate for women’s sports, and they have been growing so much. Especially in volleyball, like women’s volleyball is growing exponentially throughout the years, and it’s really cool to know that there’s so many young girls that come and watch our game and want to be us or look up to us and know what you can accomplish as a female athlete.
AL𝝮: Has your psychology major influenced how you approach playing in games?
FC: I definitely think you go and learn how your brain works, and you learn what you do under pressure and what…how much your mindset can affect every aspect of your life. I’m super passionate about what I learned about in school, too. I’ve taken all of that into everything that I do. But it definitely changes the game when you know how much your mind works and how your entire body and everything that you do is living in your head. Going into games and trying to shut that off sometimes, or not think about that, is definitely a little bit difficult. But it also helps to be a good teammate, because you can understand where people are coming from and know that mental health is super important.
AL𝝮: How did it feel in Calgary stepping onto that court knowing it was the last regular-season game of your WolfPack career?
FC: Honestly, my senior night hit me a bit more than that last regular season. Thinking that that was my last game in this gym, obviously, we didn’t know that we were going to host this spot for sure. Having senior night and thinking that was my last time ever in this gym that I’ve been playing in for five years. Even my last league game, like you said, against Calgary, that’s been like five years, like that’s half a decade of a journey of doing something every day and working towards something every single day. It’s definitely been very bittersweet, and I’m trying to not think about it as much, but I know it’s gonna hit me hard once it’s all over.
AL𝝮: How did you manage to become a five-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian during your time?
FC: A lot of time and effort. It’s definitely not an easy feat. Anyone that does it, I’ve major respect for them because it’s hard to manage volleyball and school and all the travel weekends that we have, and I’ve been a very diehard volleyball player. I’m guilty of putting volleyball before school in many instances, I’m proud that I can play catch-up and still get that academic, all Canadian. But definitely a lot of late hours studying and trying to cram things in before games, working before and after practice, late nights and just lots of time management that I wasn’t always good at.
AL𝝮: After this season wraps up, what’s next for you, volleyball-wise or beyond?
FC: That’s the question of the hour. I’m honestly pretty unsure, which is nerve-wracking. I think as soon as you finish something that everything’s always been set in stone and then all of a sudden it’s not, you’re just free for all into this new world. My goal is to go and play professionally because I feel like I’m not done with this sport yet. I’ve been in contact with some professional coaches and trying to get my fingers in over there and see if I can make a connection to get on a team. That’s the goal, but if that doesn’t work out, then we’ll have to see where life takes me.
AL𝝮: What’s your favourite WolfPack memory, accomplishment, achievement or anything that you’re really just going to remember from your career here?FC: I’ve been asked this before, and I can never think of a discreet answer. Just being a student athlete is such a privilege and such an incredible lifestyle that I’ve gotten to have these past five years here. My team went to Türkiye, that’s one that always stands out. We took a team trip to Türkiye and got to play volleyball over there, which was incredible. If I’m thinking volleyball-wise, that’s probably it, but just all the little things I’m going to miss the most, like dance parties in the team room after a win, or our travel weekends with the men’s team on buses playing heads up on the bus, like many of those little things that have always meant so much. That’s probably what I’m going to miss the most. Just winning on our home court is such a big deal, and all of our memories we have as a team, everything is going to be missed.