OGDEN -- It's not very often you'll hear a college coach giving credit to a rival coach for recruiting help.
However, Weber State women's volleyball coach Al Givens gives credit where it's due.
"I was talking with (Montana coach) Jerry Wagner a few years back when he was at Gonzaga and he told me to go up to a recruiting combine in Canada and take a look," Givens said. "He said there were some really good athletes that weren't overexposed, so I went up to see if I could find a 'diamond in the rough' so to speak."
Now, several years later, Givens' Wildcats are seeing the fruits of listening to that advice from a longtime friend and taking that first trip.
Four players from the Canadian province of Saskatchewan now dot the Weber State roster, with junior setter Kim Lissinna and redshirt freshman outside hitter Carissa Noble, having started for the Wildcats at various times this season.
"It was a long way from home and I didn't know what to expect at first," Lissinna said. "I wanted to get a scholarship and be able to continue my schooling. I was honestly looking for an academic scholarship, but the chance to come play volleyball was great."
Lissinna, who joined Weber State in 2007 along with outside hitter Katie Mario, was at first slated to be a redshirt, but earned her way onto the court with a solid showing during fall camp.
"I think being out and playing helped me adjust," Lissinna said. "Being on the bench that first year I think would've been really tough."
After Lissinna and Mario joined Weber State in 2007, Noble joined the Wildcats last season, using it as a redshirt season.
"The culture here was a lot different than back home," Noble said. "It was definitely an adjustment. To be honest, I came because Kim and Katie were here. It gave me someone I was familiar with."
All four of Weber State's Canadian players are from Saskatchewan. Lissinna is from Kelvington, a town of just 866 according to Wikipedia. Freshman Briana Wilms, who is redshirting this season, hails from Swift Current, a town of 15,000 near the province's western border. Noble and Mario hail from Saskatoon and Regina, which are, respectively, the two largest cities in the province, located in its central area.
"I've learned a lot, both about volleyball and life, coming here," Mario said. "I'm always learning something. The change in the culture was big, it's a lot different."
"I was actually down here in Utah playing in a softball tournament in Park City and I called coach Givens and told him that I thought I was pretty close, so I came up and saw the campus and I loved it. I knew this was where I wanted to come."
Weber State isn't the only team in the Big Sky Conference staging cross-border talent raids, as several members of the league boast Canadian players. Eastern Washington outside hitter Hayley Hills, who is from British Columbia, was the league's player of the year last season.
"I think the four of us get along great," Mario said. "It's kind of having something in common right from the start. Our lockers are all in a corner of the locker room and we call it the 'Canadian corner'."
Noble and Lissinna, who a year apart in age, both played for the same club team in Saskatchewan called JCVC Extreme, one of the few teams in the province to travel to tournaments inside the U.S.
Givens pointed out the Big Sky is uniquely positioned geographically for Canadian players, because every team will play matches in cities closer to the border, whom the players families and friends can travel to.
"I think to travel that far from home and from everything you know that you have to be kind of an adventurous person," Givens said. "They are a great group and they work very hard. It's a great learning experience for both sides."
Weber State wraps up its 2009 season this weekend at Swenson Gym, hosting the University of Montana at 7 p.m. Friday and Montana State at 7 p.m. on Saturday. It will be the final collegiate matches for WSU's five seniors: Jenna Leggat, Jocilyn Taylor, Chelsea Bair, Amy Fackrell and Caitlyn Anderson.
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