Hailey Oke is loving life as a member of the Memorial Sea-Hawks.
The 18-year-old Massey Drive resident is home for a three-week break from her studies at Memorial where she’s in in her rookie season with the women’s varsity volleyball team in the Atlantic University Sport.
Oke, a six-foot-three opposite hitter with the Sea-Hawks, has been pleased with the amount of floor time she received with her team sitting in second spot in the AUS standings with a 5-3 record at the Christmas break.
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Massey Drive’s Hailey Oke thankful for chance to shine on hardwood with Sea-Hawks
“I get chances and opportunities to go in during games and it’s just been really fun just to get a chance to be out there playing with the girls,” Oke said earlier this week.
She believes she’s seen in improvement in her game since she joined the Sea-Hawks. She likes the environment she finds herself in with older and more experienced girls supporting her. Having a good group of leaders to follow is something that has really helped her get adjusted to life away from the comforts of home.
“It’s just so much fun getting to play with those girls every single day in the gym and seeing how hard everybody works is a great feeling,” she said.
Oke was a standout for Corner Brook Regional High on the provincial female high school volleyball scene before she graduated from high school.
She won provincial banners, represented her province at Canada Games and won individual awards for her hard work.
But, the transition to college life and a hectic training schedule as a student-athlete at Memorial is challenging for rookies. But Oke has been able to hold her own both on the court and in the classroom so she’s happy to be a Sea-Hawk.
“The experience has been pretty amazing so far,” she said. “The team is just so amazing and we all just have such a drive to be improving and to work together to meet our common goal for this season which is ultimately winning AUS.”
She’s happy to be home for the holidays to catch up with family and friends. It’s been tough being away from people who she spent a lot of time with when was still in high school, but she realizes life goes on and she has to write the next chapter.
“It’s giving me a chance to meet a lot of new people and have a lot of different experiences,” she said.
