Sund�y1 Jan��ry !3, �ops� Nor!:� �t:-ore N_ew�. - �9 Sale GUIDE TO THE GAMES PEOPLE PLAY pass Cap star trades bomb shelter for centre court Andy Prest aprest®nsnews.com CAPILANO College second year volleyball player Marina Liarsky is leading the Blues on their quest to get back to the Canadian championships to avenge last year's home court loss in the national final. This season Liarsky is tops on the Blues and second in the league with an average of 4.24 kills per game. That's a great number but, considering Liarsky's background, maybe they need to think of a different name for the statistic. When you've spent days running to a bomb shelter every few hours, kills just doesn't have a nice ring to it. In her hometown of Haifa, Israel, the word kills meant See Sirens page 30 NEWS photo Paul McGrath CAPILANO College's Marina Liarsky makes a pass during BCCAA action this season. Liarsky, who leads the team in kills, moved to North Vancouver when violence hit her hometown of Haifa, Israel. Sunday, January 6, 200,8 - North ,Sho� News·- 31 · Liarsky wants to bring mother to Canada Frompage30 ,.. Grade 12 I told my dad I wanted to come to Canada and live here. So he contacted UBC and who knew little English. and he contacted Cap and just called a bunch It may have been tough then but now the· of universities and colleges. And then he talked bubbly, personable 19-year-old seems like many to Desj and Desj told him that he had a spot Canadian teenaged girls - chatty. Wearing � · on the team and I knew Desj so I decided to dark grey hooded sweatshirt to match her long,· come to Cap." .. . And there it is, a funny story - and one that dark hair, Liarsky lights up as she describes the path that led her here. has turned into a great success story for Liarsky "That's a funny story," she says with a laugh. thanks in large part, she says, to the man -she While still a high school student Liarsky came calls Desj. "He's not only helped me improve my to visit her father for two weeks and found volleyball skills but he's also helped me with herself bored. "I'm here and I'm not doing anything. I my language difficulties. He's trying to teach mean, I have to do some sports, so I asked my me a word every single day," she says, laughing dad to go and just make some phone calls and again. "I'm thinking of studying nursing and find out what's going on," she says. Her father unfortunately Cap doesn't offer this program. called St. Thomas Aquinas volleyball coach So I still don't know what I want to do (but) Chris Spence and Liarsky, a junior national I still want to stay for another year because I tean1 player in Israel, was soon on the Capilano just love Desj, I want him to be my coach for College court playing a high school tournament another year." with STA. So life is good for the transplanted volleyball "I still remember," she says, gesturing at smasher. The one nagging concern, however, is the shiny hardwood floor and wide halls of the the thought of her friends and, particularly, her Sportsplex, "it was the same, everything was mother, still potentially in harm's way in Israel. the same." "It's hard but I know they want me to be Along with giving Liarsky something to do here. Even though I really want to see them to pass the time, the tournament also put her - it's really painful - but I have to move on, together with the man who would smooth her I have to establish a base here and then make my mom come here, force her," she says, again transition from bomb shelter to the BCCAA. "I met Desj," she says, using her nickname with a laugh. As an only child- "I'm not spoiled though," for Capilano coach Wayne Desjardins (it rhymes with beige). "When I finished my she quickly adds - Liarsky's only immediate fan,ily member left back home is her mother and Liarsky is serious about bringing her here. "I think that would be the best for her." Israel was home, she says, but this place, too, feels like home. "There are so many opportunities, that's why I really want to stay here," she says. "My plan is to stay here for as long as I can, basically. I need to get my citizenship here and, I don't know, I think if I start to study nursing I'm going to stay here for sure." Schooling and job opportunities are draws that are keeping Liarsky in Canada but there is another one that is vital. ~ ,. ; . : ).• . "People are really cairn here. Everything is so quiet and peaceful. Israel is more intense, it's more pressure, more stress because of the political situation," she says. Living here, Liarsky says, she is through with politics for now. "I'm done. Since I came to Canada I'm like, 'No, not anymore. I don't want to know about anything.' I'm not going to forget, but I don't want to start dealing with that stuff again." It's nice to be in a place where kills are notched with a well-placed spike rather than a rocket or a tank. ••• The Blues resume their season Jan.11 and 12 with a set of home games. On Friday they play College of the Rockies at 6 p.m. and Saturday they play Selkirk starting at I p.m. Men's games follow the women's matches.