Get to know the Cheetahs: Women Volleyball Team
The Insider was lucky to have been able to interview women volleyball players Annabelle Fugere, Andrea Gabriela Zlotea, Ersi Qesku and Coach Jason Daoust. With the season starting today on their home court, the team can not wait to put their practice to work.
According to the team’s Libero, Annabelle, “the goal this season is to bring light to the sport and the team. We want people to be familiar with us and we want to give our 100% every day. This year the team is reaching for as far as we can go. We want to prove ourselves and make it to the conference finals’’ (Fugere, 2025).
The conference finals, if you did not know, includes the top 8 teams of the season. As outside hitter, Andrea, pointed out, the girls’ “chemistry on and off the court” (Zlotea, 2025) is their strength. As for weaknesses, Annabelle expresses her belief that “Weaknesses are subjective. Having [them] isn’t bad, it just makes you want to work harder because you know you have things to improve. And this early in the season I don’t believe that weaknesses are visible yet” (Fugere, 2025). But as Ersi simply states, “Hard work and dedication will get us far, I’m sure” (Qesku, 2025).
When asked why the girls joined the team, Andrea shared: “First of all, Vanier was part of my top school choices. When I practiced for the first time with the Cheetahs, the coaches made it known that they saw my potential and that meant a lot to me. Just from one practice I saw the vibes of the team and it aligned with the type of player I am. With the welcome I got, I just didn’t envision any other school or team” (Zlotea, 2025). Annabelle expressed a similar sentiment, “After only being in the gym for 2 hours after my first ID camp, I knew I wanted to be here. The energy the girls and the coaches bring is amazing. All I ever wanted was to be part of a team where I would be able to improve and thrive and the Cheetahs is the perfect thing for that” (Fugere, 2025). And Ersi, seamingly, has one goal: “to play volleyball as long as [she can]” (Qesku, 2025).
As for pre-match rituals, Andrea usually “eat[s] eggs before any tournament and [has] to have a braid of some sort in [her] hair. In [her] mind, it brings good luck” (Zlotea, 2025). The team, interestingly, “has numerous” rituals (Fugere, 2025). Annabelle’s “personal favorite is that all players must flick [their] set paper before getting on the court to play” (2025).
Being an athlete is an important commitment. But so is being a student. In Annabelle’s opinion, balancing the two isn’t easy. What helps is staying organized and having effective time management skills. She implements these strategies by making a schedule for herself. That way, she is not overwhelmed by her tasks (Fugere, 2025).
Andrea shares a similar explanation: “I always stay on top of my academics and never let things pile up. I study during my breaks and I always make sure I understand the material. I am a very energetic person and volleyball helps me drain that extra energy and gives me more focus for school. It’s true that time management is hard, especially in sciences, but I would chose this struggle every day over anything else” (2025). Ersi also expresses how spending time “with everyone on and off the courts” are what she loves most about being on the team (2025).
When it came time for the athletes to answer why someone should join the team, they all answered, almost word-for-word, the same way:
“It is an opportunity to be part of something bigger than yourself” (Fugere, 2025).
Fugere goes on to say, “The coaches we have at Vanier are all dedicated to their sport and they want to see their athletes grow” (2025). “So if you’re looking for a place to continue your volleyball journey, you wont regret Vanier” (Zlotea, 2025).
Speaking of coaches, Coach Jason Daoust believes in a coaching philosophy rooted in mutual respect, competition as a self-improvement driving force, “and fun because it is a sport [the players] love” (2025). The bond the players have is something the team puts time in cultivating. He states, “It ties into our coaching philosophy. Organizing team bonding events, supporting other teams, ice breaking situations and our mental practices which are geared towards a healthy state of mind” (Daoust, 2025).
The team’s court strengths, according to Daoust, are the girls’ speed; “Fast on our feet and keeping communication clean on the court” (Daoust, 2025). As the start of the season rapidly approaches, Coach Jason sees where “mentally, [the team needs to be more “hungry” to score a point” (Daoust, 2025). But overall, the girls are currently working on their team play, team chemistry and team connections on court. They have broken into DIV 2 with a big leap in skill of the competition (Daoust, 2025) which is an asset the team will likely put to use this season. Daoust finishes his interview by saying, ‘’We are extremely happy with the culture of inclusion we have built over the years. The experienced players reach out with little to no push from the coaching staff in order to make rookies feel comfortable and welcome” (2025).
Thank you so much to the Women Volleyball Team for providing The Insider with a ”smashing” interview! Good luck this season!
