Leslie Irie to be Inducted into Gee-Gees Women’s Volleyball Hall of Fame
A history-making setter for the Gee-Gees from 1983-88, Leslie Irie has been selected as the fourth member of the Gee-Gees Women's Volleyball Hall of Fame.
Irie helped lead the Gee-Gees to the Ontario Women's Interuniversity Athletic Association (OWIAA) conference championship in 1985-86, and was named to the conference all-star team in all five of her seasons in garnet and grey. At the national level, she was a four-time All-Canadian.
The Gee-Gees will formally induct Irie into the Hall of Fame with a ceremony event on Saturday, December 3 as part of the program's 45th anniversary season.
"Leslie is such a standout player and person, it was very clear that she should be the next inductee into the Hall of Fame," notes Gee-Gees head coach Lionel Woods. "Her impact on the team has continued throughout the years and I know many people from the volleyball community in Ottawa and across Canada will be excited to see her recognized."
In addition to the OWIAA gold in 1986, Irie's teams also claimed conference silver in 1983-84, 1984-85, and 1986-87, as well as bronze in 1987-88. The team competed at three national championship tournaments over that stretch, placing sixth on two occasions.
She was the Most Valuable Player of the OWIAA Championship in 1986 and the Gee-Gees team MVP in all five seasons. Directly following her senior season with the Gee-Gees in 1988, Irie played for Canada's Senior National Team, debuting in a pair of victories in Regina against West Germany.
Irie then became a successful and well-respected coach, first at Dalhousie where she earned the Atlantic University Sport Coach of the Year Award in 1991-92, and then at Saskatchewan from 1997-2011 where she was a two-time Canada West Coach of the Year and won the Canadian Interuniversity Sport Coach of the Year Award in 2001-02.
She has regularly returned to Ottawa's Montpetit Hall leading the Volleyball Position Camps as the director and head coach.
Irie's status as a four-time All-Canadian puts her in rare company : she is one of just three student-athletes in Gee-Gees history across all team sports to have the distinction. The others are Neil Lumsden (football), and Alexandra Ondo (rugby).
The Gee-Gees Women's Volleyball Hall of Fame was established in 2016, when Mylène Camu, Sylvie Bigras, and Lorne Sawula were inducted.