UNB Saint John Athletics
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Kate McLeod has officially signed with the UNB Saint John Seawolves women’s volleyball team for the 2023-24 varsity season.

McLeod hails from Saint John, N.B., and is a senior at Simonds High School, where she won team MVP honours last year while capturing the same award for the 18U Timberwolves. The promising outside-hitter is also a product of the Wolfpack volleyball program, where she made her mark by winning the coach’s choice award in 2019 and most improved the year before.
“Volleyball to me is a way to keep active, a social outlet, a team activity and a positive distraction from other school and work commitments,” McLeod said. “I have tried other sports such as swimming, diving, field hockey and badminton, but I was never interested in investing the time to improving my skills in those sports like I am with volleyball. When I was in grade 7, I went to a volleyball tryout without any experience and found that it was something I wanted to improve in.”

Seawolves head coach Colin Chambers met McLeod at last summer’s high school volleyball camp at UNB Saint John. She comes highly recommended by Timberwolves coaches Scott Bagnell and Kevin Manuel after her strong performance during club provincials in December.
“Kate is an athletic outside-hitter with a high ceiling as an offensive player,” Chambers said. “Her defensive consistency has room to grow, but her attitude, work ethic and recent progressions with her club team suggest that she is more than capable of making the adjustments to round out her game.”
Chambers foresees McLeod providing quality offensive depth while setting an example for her teammates with her strong work ethic. Like all rookies, there’s room for growth.
“I expect that our weight-training program will help her become even more explosive, which could turn her promising serve into a valuable weapon in this league,” Chambers said.

McLeod brings a realistic and mature perspective as she approaches her ACAA debut.

“My goal is to improve my volleyball skills, and to become stronger and more confident as the season progresses,” she said.
Aside from McLeod’s success on the court, she was a high honours student all four years at Simonds.

“I chose UNB Saint John because of the unique bachelor of health and bachelor of business dual degree, and I am familiar with the campus from attending volleyball camps here,” she said.
McLeod credits her mother for being her biggest role model.

“She works hard for our family every day and still has a positive attitude,” she said. “She keeps our family of five organized while we all have sports and activities to go to.”

Welcome to the Seawolves Family, Kate!