GRADE-POINT ANECDOTES: Virden setter Scharff thriving after transfer

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This article was published 10/01/2023 (668 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The email couldn’t have possibly come at a better time.

Windsor Lancers women’s volleyball coach Lucas Hodgson had just learned senior setter Brooke Davis wouldn’t return for her final season. He was down to one setter when Virden’s Danika Scharff reached out and expressed interest in transferring from the University of Winnipeg.

They spoke on Zoom the following day, and Scharff quickly knew it was the right move.

Less than a year later, the Westman product was named the Lancers’ female athlete of the week following a sweep of the Royal Military College Paladins.

“I thought I played really well against RMC and wasn’t honestly thinking about athlete of the week at all,” Scharff said. “… I looked on Instagram and there was my face. I was really excited and it was a really rewarding moment after a few tough years.”

Her path to post-secondary volleyball started strong. The five-foot-nine setter played for Team Manitoba, a AAA powerhouse Virden Golden Bears squad and some talented Club West rosters.

But COVID-19 wiped out Scharff’s senior year. She said it was tough to find motivation, which has always come from match settings and chasing championships.

Wesmen head coach Phil Hudson still knew of her talent and offered her a spot in 2021. Scharff redshirted as the fourth setter behind third-year starter Portia Switzer, rookie Breanne Bazin and third-year Mikaela Cameron.

“Redshirting was an amazing experience just because of Phil being an awesome coach and the amazing volleyball players, some of my best friends to this day,” Scharff said. “But another year of not playing actual games and getting that competition that I crave.”

She said it was a wake-up call knowing the starting job she always had in school and club ball wasn’t hers. Further, she’d get few to no setting reps some days because there simply weren’t enough to go around.

Scharff still embraced the chance to learn through observation and improve her defence by jumping in the back row for drills.

At end-of-season meetings, Hudson and Scharff were equally transparent. He said she’d have a better chance to climb the ladder but couldn’t guarantee playing time. Scharff made it clear she was looking for better opportunities elsewhere but would happily return if they didn’t materialize.

She researched a whole bunch of schools, prioritizing ones with fewer than three setters and ones with fifth-years that would soon move on.

The Lancers seemed like a decent fit. When Davis was accepted into chiropractic school, they became the perfect one.

“It was crazy,” Scharff said. “Stars aligned.

“… It worked out better than I could have imagined.”

Scharff quickly noticed Ontario University Athletics differs from Canada West in that players are smaller and craftier. Rallies last longer as there are fewer six-foot-plus bangers raring to blast an attack and end a point, one way or another.

It didn’t take long to find her form. Scharff has been the primary setter in four matches: all Windsor wins. She kicked it off with 31 assists, six aces, seven digs and three blocks in a win over Trent on Nov. 13, and then posted 28 assists and five kills in a 3-1 decision over Lakehead.

Starter Nicole Woelk injured her ankle a couple of weeks ago and travelled to Kingston for the RMC matches but didn’t dress. Scharff delivered 32 assists, three aces and nine digs the first night, and added 22 assists, three aces and 12 digs in the second 3-0 sweep of the weekend.

The Lancers are 7-4, tied for fifth in the 14-team conference with nine matches to go.

It’s felt like forever since her Grade 11 season in 2019, but Scharff found that competitive fire again and has no plans to let it fade.

“It’s an amazing feeling,” Scharff said. “… Once the game’s over, I can’t wait to go to the next practice and play six-on-six.”

QUICK HITS: The Brandon University Bobcats men’s volleyball team cracked the U Sports top 10 this week, ranked ninth after a weekend sweep of UBC Okanagan. The 8-6 Bobcats are on their bye week while the BU women visit Regina on Friday and Saturday in a battle of 0-14 teams … The Bobcat basketball teams host the University of Manitoba this weekend. The women also square off in search of their first victories at the Healthy Living Centre on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m. The 8-4 BU men battle the No. 8-ranked Bisons (9-1) on Friday at 8 o’clock and Saturday at 7 o’clock.