Building Champions: Abby Guezen wins it all during historic season

Article by Brian Swane, special to CW

May 12, 2026 - At the conclusion of the FIVB Women's Volleyball World Championship in Thailand last summer, Team Canada head coach Giovanni Guidetti had some parting words for one of his program’s rising stars.

“He said, ‘I want you to win everything this year,'” recalls Abby Guezen. “Like, ‘You’re going back to school, you’d better win it all’.”

And so that’s exactly what Guezen did.

First, she led the Alberta Pandas to the top of the Canada West standings with an 18-2 regular season record. Then Guezen and her Pandas teammates captured the conference championship on their home court in the Saville Community Sports Centre.

And finally, at the U SPORTS Championship in Langley, B.C., the outside hitter propelled Alberta’s women’s volleyball team to its first national title in nearly two decades.

Along the way, Guezen was named Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year by both Canada West and U SPORTS. And earlier this month, the outside hitter from Sherwood Park, Alta., was also named the Canada West Female Athlete of the Year, putting an exclamation mark on one of the great careers in Canada West women’s volleyball history.

“I wasn’t sure originally if I was going to be coming back this year or not, and I’m just extremely grateful that I did because the year we had is something that I never would have experienced anywhere else … and to do that with girls I put in the work with for three years and girls that just joined last year and this year,” Guezen said.

These last few months have been the triumphant culmination of a journey that began three years ago, when Guezen began attending the University of Alberta and Carolyn O’Dwyer started her tenure as Pandas volleyball head coach.

In 2023-24, the Pandas brought home Canada West bronze and U SPORTS silver, while Guezen was named Canada West and U SPORTS Rookie of the Year. As a second-year student-athlete in 2024-25, Guezen was selected as a Second Team Canada West All-Star while playing a key role in helping Alberta capture their first conference championship since 2017, as well as a U SPORTS bronze medal.

Going into this season, Guezen was named one of the Pandas team captains, a reflection of her growing leadership role within the program.

“There’s a lot of areas that I have grown, and a lot is props to Carolyn,” Guezen said. “She helped me change my mindset about volleyball a lot, and just how I approach the game. From my rookie year it went from being, ‘I want to be the best all the time’ and so self-focused to becoming more team-focused and understanding that I can contribute to our team from multiple aspects, on and off the court.

“Like, being a good example in academics helps our team be better on the court because we’re more locked in when we have time to do academics and then we can come on the court and be free of that,” adds Guezen, a student in the faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, & Recreation.

At the age of just 19, Guezen made her international senior debut, competing in the 2025 FIVB Women’s Volleyball Nations League during last June and July. Later in the summer, she was part of the Canadian squad that advanced to the Round of 16 at the Women’s World Championship.

Guezen was able to share her national team experience with O’Dwyer, who serves as assistant coach with Team Canada.

“That experience taught me a lot about what it’s like to be a high-level athlete and the things that I would have to implement if I wanted to continue to go further and further,” Guezen said. “So I think just coming into this year with a new mindset of how much more work I need to do than I had ever thought before, but then also just understanding that winning is really hard.”

This coming fall, Guezen will take the exciting next step in her journey, as a professional volleyball player in the Italian Women's Volleyball League Serie A1, regarded as one of the world’s top pro women’s volleyball circuits.

Before then, the Albertan will represent her country in the 2026 Women’s Volleyball National League, which gets underway at the beginning of June with several matches in Quebec City. Team Canada will once again be coached by Guidetti, who is no doubt very pleased with Guezen’s accomplishments this past season.

“I think he really wanted me to win it all because he wanted me to know what that felt like,” Guezen said, “and I know what it feels like now, so I’m hoping that grind we put into this year, I’ll be able to bring that into the summer.”

Canada West - Building Champions Since 1919

In Canada West, excellence isn’t a trend. It’s a tradition.

With roots dating back to 1919, we’ve spent generations developing leaders in sport and beyond. Today, our student-athletes are continuing that legacy - pushing boundaries in competition, excelling in the classroom, and going on to lead in their professions and communities.

Across 18 schools and four provinces, our student-athletes chase greatness, backed by elite coaches, premier facilities, passionate fans, and the best student-athlete experience in Canadian university sport.

In the west, our student-athletes rise. On the field, in the classroom, and in life.

This isn’t just where greatness begins. It’s where champions are made.