By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
A record setter at Bishop LeBlond, Rilyn Conard will continue her volleyball career just over an hour and a half away with the Ottawa Braves.
Conard says she's excited to be joining the Ottawa program
"Coach Ashan (Jordan) is great, I love his program, seems like a little rebuilding process right now,” Conard tells reporters.
Conard says she's ready to go in and contribute to the program however she can
"Help them hopefully go get a conference championship, so I’m super excited,” Conard says.
Conard says what she will take away most from her time at LeBlond is all the memories
"The teammates and Coach Huss, they all mean so much to me, and I really wouldn’t be here without them,” Conard explains. “They just make me fall more in love with the game every day, and they’ve been a huge part of all of this success, and I’m proud to have gone to LeBlond.”
Now onto the next level, Conard says it means so much because it is a dream come true
"This has been a dream of mine for a while and a goal, and it feels great to finally accomplish that goal and go ahead and play at the next level, it’s huge,” Conard says.
Conard finished her career with 1,361 kills. She was part of two state runs for the Golden Eagles that ended with a third-place finish and a second-place finish.
Head Coach Kim Huss says Conard's contributions on the volleyball court are a testament to the program, and her volleyball skills being an outside hitter
"Rilyn’s a hard worker, she’s a competitor, she watches a lot of film to get ready for competitors, and she’s been a good leader for our program,” Huss says.
Huss says what the Braves are getting for their team out of Conard is a fiery competitor
"You’re getting a fiery competitor who's going to work hard, who's going to challenge everyone around her to be better and better,” Huss says. “And I think that she has some goals and she’s looking forward to showing what she can on a different stage.”
Conard was also named an All-State player and All-Conference player three times in her high school career.
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