Continued progression – and a bit of transition – has been the theme this year for second year Acadia Axewomen volleyball attacker Alexia Lemay-Evans.

The 19 year old graduate of Collège Notre-Dame was recognized as the Female Athlete of the Week recently by her school after battering her way to 25 kills and chipping in with 14 digs against the St Mary’s Huskies last weekend in a two-match showdown of the top two teams in the AUS.

Needless to say, things are starting to come together nicely for the long-time star with the Northern Chill Volleyball Club.

“Your first year is truly an adjustment period, both in life and in the sport,” said Lemay-Evans.

In the case of the northern Ontario product who will be joined by little sister Mia next fall, such was even more so the case. “I was in a bit of a different position,” explained Lemay-Evans. “I came in as a middle and have now transitioned this year to the right side.”

“I was trying to look at not only what role would be best for me personally, but what would put our team in the best position to win. I am looking for our team to get a championship; that will always be my goal.”

Stumbles, along the way, were very much to be expected.

“It was pretty tough in the first month, month and a half,” said Lemay-Evans. “I was still training in two positions. I found it tough to feel like I was excelling at either position. I wasn’t sure if I could fully develop in one position if I was training both.”

As her role solidified and the starts came her way, the confidence of the Sudbury hitter surged.

“I am super grateful for the support of coaches and team, and even coaches and friends back home to get through that,” she said. Truth be told, her body needed to react differently.

“As a middle, one thing I have been training really hard was my feet, getting in the air faster,” said Lemay-Evans. “Transitioning to right side was a little tough because I had put so much emphasis on being fast, but now I had to focus on slowing down a lot. The height of the set you are getting on the right side is much higher than the set you get in the middle.”

As for the match with St Mary's, Lemay-Evans was overcoming some early season doubt as he first ever university start came opposite that very same opponent in the opening weekend of regular season play this year.

"I knew that I hadn't performed my best - but they were also my two first ever (U Sports) starts," she said. "We started slow as a team, but that really fired me up. I always want to be the one who tries to get my team out of this."

And though Acadia fell a little short of toppling the #1 seed out east, Lemay-Evans left it all on the court and earned the recognition for doing so.