Trenke name U SPORTS Community Service Award winner

Third-year women’s volleyball player Kasandra Trenke was named the winner of the Thérèse Quigley award for student-athlete community service. The announcement was made on Wednesday night at the All-Canadian Award Ceremony in Winnipeg, site of the 2024 championship tournament.

Other major award winners include Raya Surinx of the Manitoba Bisons who has been named the winner of the Mary Lyons Award as the player of the year in U SPORTS women’s volleyball for the second straight year, Béatrice Dubreuil of Sherbrooke, who won the Mark Tennant as rookie of the year; and Janelle Rozema of UFV, who won the Marilyn Pomfret Award as the Fox40 Coach of the Year.

Thérèse Quigley Award (student-athlete community service): Kasandra Trenke, Dalhousie

Dalhousie middle blocker Kasandra Trenke is the 2025 recipient of the Thérèse Quigley Award, given to a women's volleyball student-athlete who shows outstanding achievements in three areas: volleyball, academics and community involvement.

A third-year microbiology and immunology student from Calgary and one of the Tigers' team captains, Trenke excelled on the court and in the classroom this season, while also volunteering her time in her community. She finished the regular season with the best hitting percentage in the conference (.366)—the fourth best in U SPORTS and was also named an AUS second team all-star. In the classroom, Trenke boasts a 4.18 GPA. She is a two-time Academic All-Canadian on pace to repeat for a third time this year.

Her extensive volunteer work includes helping to run the Special Tigers program which runs events that allow youth with special needs to partner with varsity athletes to share their love of sports. Trenke lends her time to several other on-campus initiatives, including Extra Awesome Dalhousie (a program created to celebrate the abilities of individuals with Down syndrome), and SPRING Dalhousie (Students Pairing to Reach Individual's Needs and Goals). Off campus, Trenke also volunteers with Ronald McDonald House Charities.

Trenke is the first Tiger to win the award, which has gone to an athlete from AUS nine teams overall.

Other nominees: Béatrice Lamarche (Laval), Alex Sinik (Waterloo), Rosetta Cyr (Saskatchewan)

Full U SPORTS Award Announcement