After recently announcing three grade 12 recruits for the 2011-12 season, the Varsity Reds women’s volleyball program now has a commitment from a fourth. Katarina Legutky, a 5’11” left-side player, from Calgary, Alberta, has committed to the UNB program. She joins one of the top grade 12 volleyball players in Atlantic Canada Vanja Mitrovic as well as libero Olivia Babcock and setter Leah White as the newest Varsity Reds. All three of those players are Team New Brunswick members and play within the Fredericton Reds Volleyball Club.
Legutky was born in Poprad, Slovakia before her family moved to Canada when she was ten years old. Last summer as a member of Team Alberta she helped her province to an impressive fourth place finish at the National Team Challenge Cup. She currently plays within the Calgary Dinos Volleyball Club. This is the same club Varsity Reds Alumni Candace Cuncannon and Christina Ross came through as well as current UNB assistant coach Erin (Holowaychuk) Crossland. Her club team is currently ranked as the #1 team in Alberta and will be a strong contender for the National Championship when Abbotsford, BC, plays host to the Volleyball Canada 18U Club Nationals in May.
Katarina is the daughter of Dana and Marian Legutky and has two brothers Dominic and Nicholas. She fell in love with volleyball, admiring her mom’s cousin Ingrid Gillot-Martin, who is a professional volleyball player (Paris, Basil).
Legutky commented “I didn't know what to expect when I came for a visit to Fredericton as it was my first time coming to Atlantic Canada, but I loved it. I met the team and had a great feeling about the entire V-Reds program. The coaches and the girls are the reason I want to come to UNB. I am very excited to be a part of this program and I hope I can help contribute to UNB’s continuing success.”
Head Coach John Richard commented, “We were very excited to have Katarina commit to our program. With Hay and Blanchard graduating we needed a left-side who could not only score but could pass as well. Katarina is a dynamic physical player who will step in and contribute right away. As we move into what will be one of the best athletic facilities in Canada, the Richard J. Currie Center, we continue to look for top level student-athletes to train, compete and excel in that building. This is another step towards that goal.”