Halle Meisner: October's Zueike Female Athlete of the Month
Meisner digs an attack during their weekend set with the Cougars to close out the month
Congratulations to Halle Meisner of Blazers Women's Volleyball on being selected the CMU Zueike Female Athlete of the Month for October. The returning MCAC All-Conference selection has started her senior year hot, leading the team in a number of offensive statistical categories.
Meisner is coming off another MCAC All-Conference season in 2024-25 in which the Blazers once again made a Finals run at the MCAC Championships, but came up short of the ultimate goal. Back for a fifth and final season, Meisner seems as determined as ever to lift the trophy once again and help lead her team to another CCAA National Championship after getting a taste of the top college tournament in Canada in the spring of 2024 in Red Deer, Alberta. Now under head coach Craig McKenzie who was feeling out his roster in the pre-season, the Blazers have come charging out of the gate now that the regular season has begun.
The Blazers hosted the CCAA Nationals semi-finalists, and current #1-ranked Humber Hawks at the Loewen Athletic Centre for two exhibitions early in the month, and CMU held their own, taking a set off the OCAA powerhouse in both meetings.
Now three games into the regular season, Meisner has vaulted herself into the top of the MCAC leaderboard for a number of statistical categories. This is definitely not uncharted waters for the veteran outside who has been in the running for top swinger in the conference throughout her career. Following two wins over the Assiniboine Cougars on the weekend, Meisner now sits first in the conference for kills per set played, third in total kills (only two behind the current leader), and third in kill efficiency (tops among outside hitters). Add to that a fifth-place ranking in service aces per set and you can see why the right side is such a feared attacker among her peers across the league.
On a team rife with attacking talent, Meisner has collected double-digits in kills in all three matches thus far, leading all attackers in their October 24th win over Les Rouges with 15, and then a team-high 13 kills this past Saturday when CMU made a comeback win over the Cougars. Their recent weekend set with Assiniboine could turn out to be a pivotal point in the schedule, allowing the Blazers to keep pace in the standings with the nationally-ranked Pilots, and also distancing themselves from the Cougars, who have for the past few seasons been in a hard-fought battle to gain the higher seed in a potential semi-final matchup. The Cougars were picked by many to push for top spot in the conference, but clearly Meisner and the Blazers had something to say about that sentiment.
Newly minted Blazers head coach Craig McKenzie weighed in on the impact his veteran outside has had early in the season stating "Halle has stepped up and shown fantastic leadership and excellent showing for the first three league games of the season, leading the team to a solid 3-0 start. Her calming influence has helped the team relax and compete in some tough fought matches."
The Blazers have a light bye weekend ahead, with a single exhibition with the Confederation College Thunderhawks scheduled for Friday night at the Loewen, before the first half of the season gets back into full swing following the reading break, with a tough road match set in Brandon on Friday night, followed by the first meeting of the season with the Pilots on Saturday afternoon at the Loewen. With Providence hosting the CCAA Nationals in March of 2026, the next-highest ranked team from the MCAC will also earn a spot at the tournament that will for the first time feature two Manitoba entries.
Print This Article