Scandinavian sensation U of M lands coveted Norwegian volleyballer for women’s team By: Joshua Frey-Sam Posted: 5:50 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025 Last Modified: 6:48 PM CST Thursday, Jan. 23, 2025 Updates

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 23/01/2025 (427 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If Manitoba Bisons women’s volleyball head coach Ken Bentley was going to bring in the first international recruit of his 39-year career, he was going to need to see her in person first.

What he observed of Lucy Jürgensen a few weeks later, during a practice in November, not only confirmed the Norwegian’s promising skillset he saw on video, but left Bentley with a conviction that he could have the next Canada West star on his hands.

“When she left, I was left on pins and needles hoping we were going to get this kid,” Bentley said.

A short time later, Jürgensen signed her intent to play for the Bisons this fall. The team announced the commitment on Monday.

Jürgensen, who hails from Øksnes, Vesterålen, a municipality in the northwest part of Norway, is an elite outside and opposite hitter with athletic abilities that aren’t common in 18-year-olds. At 6-1, she can stretch to over 10 feet for a spike and reach over nine feet for a block.

Jürgensen brings a level of experience against quality competition that can translate at the next level. She has represented and led Norway’s national teams at the youth, junior and senior level and played for ToppVolley Norge of the Norwegian Mizunoligaen, the top league in the country, since 2022.

Her athleticism was clear as day to Bentley and the rest of the Bisons during that session in November.

“She practised with us, and we’ve got a pretty good team, and she hung with our team just fine, which was probably the biggest litmus test,” Bentley said. “She was not uncomfortable with it. I mean, the speed was a bit quicker than she’s used to, but she plays high above the net, she wasn’t scared to play— she got right in there.

“She’s already a good player. She’s playing at a high level now and she is absolutely a player that can make an impact in Canada West. And just a great kid— academically minded, a real polite, hard-working, couldn’t ask for a better kid. It checked every box.”

Though there will be an acclimation period, Bentley is confident Jürgensen’s skillset will allow her to make an immediate impact when she arrives on the Fort Garry campus.

“I think for a player to come all the way from Norway, she’d have to meet that criteria, right? It’d be silly to bring her in if she didn’t have the capacity to do that, and clearly she demonstrated that during our visit,” he said.

Jürgensen had other universities interested in her services, but was quickly impressed by Bentley and what seemed like a high-level opportunity after a Zoom meeting in October. The Bisons’ seven national championships — six under the current head coach— were certainly a draw.

Academics and a quality environment were equally important while she plays. She felt the U of M and living in Manitoba would meet those needs.

If that wasn’t enough, her youth national team coach, Vitor Marcedo, who put Jürgensen on Bentley’s radar in early fall, gave a glowing recommendation of attending a school in the Canada West conference and what it could do for her development, which is why she ultimately chose to come to Canada.

“In Norway, we don’t have any pro league. It’s not a very good environment for playing volleyball as more than just a hobby. You can, but I really wanted to find out how good I can become and I know it’s smart to go outside of Norway to try,” said Jürgensen.

“We also don’t have any colleges in Norway, too, so it would be very separated to play and study.”

Jürgensen was inspired to play volleyball from a young age. Her small hometown didn’t leave room for other sports, and both of her older sisters played for ToppVolley Norge and the Norwegian junior national team.

That’s to say volleyball has been her primary focus for a long time. When Jürgensen arrives, she will be a hungry 19-year-old, eager to learn and sharpen her skills on the court. She said the opportunity to play and develop year-round in Manitoba certainly factored into her decision to sign.

Though she’s only played inside the Investors Group Athletic Centre once, she said it was an experience that made a lasting impression on her and returning is all she’s thought about since.

“I think I will have very much to learn when I come. I’ve seen the girls play and it will be a challenge to match their high level, but I practised with them and it wasn’t very scary or anything so I think it will be good, but I think I will develop a lot with them,” Jürgensen said.

“I got to meet the girls and they were very, very kind and fun and I felt like the training group was very good, so I know I will come to a good place.”

No. 6 Manitoba is strong once again this season at 10-4 and currently riding an eight-match win streak. The program will lose nine seniors after this season, making Jürgensen’s commitment all the more significant as Bentley ushers in the next core of Bisons’ volleyball.

“We are preparing for the inevitable changing of the guard after the next year is finished… it’s going to be a tremendous change for our program,” Bentley said. “So we’re just trying to do the best we can now to get out in front of that change, and Lucy is a huge piece of that, as are the other recruits that we’ve got coming in next year.

“We’re kind of preparing in advance for that inevitable change, so I feel I can kind of sleep at night knowing we’ve got a really good group coming in that will eventually take over from this great group.”

joshua.frey-sam@freepress.mb.ca