By CRAIG CHRISTIE

Etobicoke native Raeven Chase is making a name for herself in Michigan.
The numbers from Chase’s freshman season playing volleyball at Eastern Michigan University
(EMU) jump off the page: 147.5 points, 108 kills and 69 blocks. On top of that the graduate of Michael Power/St. Joseph High School was voted to the Mid-American Conference (MAC)
All-Freshman team.
But there is one award she is most proud of. “I made the Academic team and I’m on
the Dean’s List so that’s exciting,” Chase says.
Chase arrived at EMU in 2018 but sat out the first year. Although she wasn’t initially happy with the
decision it allowed her to practice and learn from her coaches and more experienced teammates.
“I got into the recruiting process super late and didn’t sign with EMU until late April (2018),” Chase says. At the time there was only one other school in the running for her talent but she attended a showcase tournament and after received about 13 scholarship offers, primarily from Division 2 or 3 schools.
EMU head volleyball coach Darcy Dorton first saw Chase on a YouTube video. “My first impression from the video was, ‘Wow, this kid has some serious potential’,” Dorton recalls. “Raeven has a lot of physical strengths: she is very tall (6’3”), surprisingly quick … light on her feet and has a very good vertical leap.”
With several key seniors graduating this year, Chase is being counted on to take a leadership role on the team.
“Off the court I feel I can be a better teammate by providing positive feedback and communicating with my teammates,” she says.
Dorton believes that having a young team will be an opportunity for Raeven since her teammates and the coaching staff will expect her to play a bigger role next year.
Chase will be heading to Vancouver to attend the Canadian women’s NextGen selection camp this summer. The tryout is for athletes who aspire to qualify for the 2024 Olympics.
“Raeven is a promising young athlete who has the size to compete internationally,” says Shannon Winzer, Head Coach, NextGen National Team. “We hope to further evaluate her against the top talent from across the country.”
The science major is looking at physiotherapy as an option because she wants to work with athletes. Her coach however thinks she may have to put that on hold for a while.