Mac lands blue-chip setter
By: John Bauer
Already positioned as one of Ontario’s top women’s volleyball teams, the McMaster Marauders are also thinking to the future after securing their second recruit in as many months.
Committed to join the team next year is 5-foot-10 hitter Michelle Chelladurai, from London, Ont. The Marauders have been getting solid contributions from current hitter Caitlin Genovy and now-graduated Amanda Weldon over the past couple of years, but coach Tim Louks hopes Chelladurai brings some star power to the position.
“It is rare that the whole team gets excited about additions that are a little unknown, but our whole team is excited about Michelle... Our setting circumstance just got stronger with this addition,” said Louks.
Chelladurai plays for a Forest Valley Volleyball Club that boasted seven of the 24 women to play for Team Ontario over the summer. She already has accumulated quite the trophy case, with championships at the national and provincial levels, among other accolades.
“I decided to join the Marauder program because both the academics and the women’s volleyball program at McMaster are outstanding,” said Chelladurai, when asked what drew her to McMaster. “The coaching staff has been very welcoming and obviously a big part of the success of the Marauder program, so I’m looking forward to playing in this environment.”
Chelladurai is not the first of her family members to play in the OUA volleyball circuit. Her brother, Andrew, plays for the Windsor Lancers. Their volleyball bent seems to have come from their father, a former player, coach, and now president of the Forest Valley Volleyball Club.
In a recent interview with Volleyball Ontario, Chelladurai said: “I’d like to think my best skill is being able to perform well under pressure. A key component of performing well is staying calm and maintaining composure in these types of situations.” Considering that around this time next year Chelladurai might be taking serves from some of the country’s best, this must be music to coach Louks’ ears.
