College of the Rockies women's Avalanche have signed Malia Somwe, a 5 ft. 11 in. middle blocker from Cranbrook for the 2022/23 season.

Before joining the Avs, Somwe attended Mt. Baker Secondary School and participated with the East Kootenay Volleyball Club for five years as a middle blocker and has become one of the best middles in the Kootenays. She and her u17 teammates won bronze at Volleyball Canada Nationals in 2022 and she has participated in both the Volleyball Canada Regional Excellence Program (Kootenay region) for the past three years and in the College's women's volleyball High Performance Camp for the last two.

"I've always heard great things about College of the Rockies, like how good the atmosphere is and the environment surrounding it", Somwe said. "I love being outdoors, camping and hiking in the beautiful BC wilderness, it's my happy place. I've always been inspired by the College's women's volleyball players and watching both the men and women play and seeing how talented the players are inspired me to join the team. I want to spread positivity and influence others and volleyball is the sport I love most. This is an amazing opportunity to be a part of this great team and to contribute to their influence on the sport of volleyball in the Kootenays."

"Malia has developed into a high-level middle blocker over the past few years," said women's coach Bryan Fraser. "She's had some excellent development from her club coach, Clint Dolgopol, and I'm excited to have her joining our program and to help her grow as a student-athlete. Malia really enjoys the sport and works extremely hard, so she is going to fit into our team culture perfectly. I'm positive that she will adapt to the high-performance environment quickly and be a big contributor on the court for us."

When not pursuing her passion for volleyball, Somwe is enrolled in General Studies courses at the College.

The Avalanche women's volleyball team is currently in third spot in the PACWEST standing with a 3-3 record.