Involvement in sports has always been of utmost importance to the Dillon family, and that influence from a young age has produced two extremely talented athletes currently plying their trades at high levels.
 
York Lions fourth-year setter Kirsten Dillon has blossomed into one of the best at her position in the OUA in her first three seasons, while her older brother, Brenden, is a defenceman with the San Jose Sharks in the National Hockey League (NHL) and represented Canada at the 2013 IIHF world championships.
 
Both of them have their parents to thank for turning them into competitive athletes, as Edward and Debbie were high-level athletes in their own right when they were younger.
 
"My parents were racquet ball players. My mom was top 10 in the province and there are medals all over the basement of theirs. I've never actually seen them play, but I've heard that back in the day they were pretty athletic!"
 
Because of their encouragement, Dillon participated in a wide range of sports as a little girl before she finally settled on one.
 
"Athletics were so important growing up. I was put into every single sport; I would have one practice after another until it got to the point where I had to pick one sport and I picked volleyball. It's the only I had the most fun with. I love basketball too but hated going to practice! I love coming here every day and playing volleyball."
 
Since narrowing her focus, Dillon has shown tremendous growth on the court. She won multiple provincial and national medals with her club teams and was a former member of the British Columbia provincial team. Her strong play as a setter led to plenty of interest from CIS coaches around the country, and after a recruiting trip to York alongside Lions teammates Carley Flemmer and Melissa Smillie, she knew she had found her spot for her varsity career.
 
She spent one season learning her craft as a rookie back-up setter, but took over the starting job two seasons ago and has been impressive ever since. She has played in every match in that stretch and has finished in the OUA's top five in assists per set both years.
 
As one of only two fourth-players on this year's roster, Dillon's role has expanded to include team captain on a squad that includes seven rookies, and in 2015-16 she is ready to run the offence on the court while also providing guidance to her younger teammates off of it.
 
"I can tell a lot of the girls look up to me but I am more of a lead-by-example type of person," she says of her leadership style. "I push them as hard as I can and they know I'm there if they need to come talk to me."
 
Dillon's strong competitive nature has her believing that this year's version of the Lions can be in the mix when the playoffs narrow to just a few teams, and she has a long history of sporting excellence to draw upon when she takes the court this season.
 
 
GETTING TO KNOW KIRSTEN
 
Any significance to wearing the No. 4?
My birthday is 04-04-94 so I like the number 4. My brother wears it too, but he stole it from me because I wore it first!
 
Nicknames?
My last name is Dillon so somehow I got Dill Pickle out of that. And my initials are KD so some people call me that too.
 
Most embarrassing moments on the volleyball court?
I think I have a lot of them! When I go up to hit the ball at the net I usually hit the net and I always get the "look" from Nick.
 

---

It's not often that one of the most influential players on a varsity team has just one year of experience under their belts, but the York Lions women's volleyball team is in good hands with second-year setter Mimi Demski providing leadership on and off the court.
 
She's only been at the university for one season but has already made a big impact not just on the women's volleyball team but also on the varsity program as a whole.
 
As a rookie, she appeared in 14 sets as the back-up setter and averaged 4.24 assists per set. But where her impact is truly felt is in the enthusiasm she brings to the line-up, and the positive energy she both exudes and instills in her teammates. It's an attitude she strives to bring to every practice and game.
 
"I hope to be a positive player and keep pushing our athletes on the court and off to help the team keep getting better," says Demski about her role with the program. "We have a lot of building and growing to do, and I want to be a source of encouragement for the rest of the team."
 
Away from the court she is also already heavily involved in many different initiatives, most notably York's Providing Athletes with Winning Strategies (P.A.W.S.) program that provides educational and first-year transition support to all entering Lions rookies. She credits former teammate Jennifer Black with inspiring her to contribute in all aspects of student-athlete life.
 
"Last year I was fortunate to have a captain in Jen who was such an incredible captain and role mode, and my goal is to follow in her steps. She was always involved and pushed us to be involved, and she showed me a lot of the ropes. Now I want to be what she was to us to our rookies. I want that example to continue throughout our program because I think it showed me something so valuable."
 
Black isn't the only role model Demski looks up to. Her sister Emilia, six years older, has had a tremendous influence on her life throughout the years.
 
"My sister is the most supportive person I have ever met in my life. She is my number one fan no matter what I do. She's the reason why I am where I am today."
 
As a three-year-old, Mimi would watch her older sister play volleyball in elementary school and that inspired her to get into the sport herself. Other than a short time playing soccer, volleyball is the only sport she has known and the small teams and speed of the game have kept her hooked since she first stepped on the court herself at the age of nine.
 
She also came to York because of Emilia, who was not a varsity athlete but still came to many games to cheer on the Lions. Mimi was exposed to the excitement of varsity life at the university from a young age and that made her post-secondary decision an easy one.
 
"Whenever I came here she would bring us to events, and when I was at the events I could tell there was a great family environment. I used to come watch the Lions as a little girl and growing up, I always had my goal to come here."
 
The Lions women's volleyball team and the varsity program overall have already benefitted greatly from her contributions and will no doubt continue to do so in the next several years she is at York.
 
 
GETTING TO KNOW MIMI
 
Favourite volleyball memory?
Last year when the University of Ottawa came here. It was the craziest game I've ever been part of. The sets were so close and it was incredible.
 
Any embarrassing moments on the volleyball court?
All the time! So many times the ball has slipped through my hands, I've served under the net, ran into walls, things like that.
 
What do you want to do after York?
I want to be an engineer. I am studying civil engineering right now and one day would love to be the CEO of a company in the environmental field.