University of Montana standout Jaimie Thibeault recently attended a pair of national training camps in her native Canada, and the two-time first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection came away with her highest honor to date: a spot in the national team program.

Thibeault, who will be a senior for the Grizzlies in the fall, attended the National Women’s Open High Performance Camp May 2-4 at the University of Manitoba. She played and interviewed well enough that she was asked to remain for the 2010 National Women’s Selection Camp May 5-8.

Twenty-nine athletes from the selection camp were then chosen for spots on the 2010 Senior Women’s National Team rosters. Eleven players were placed on the A team. Thibeault was one of 13 athletes earning a spot on the B team. Five players were given A/B team status.

“We had a very good selection camp,” national team coach Arnd Ludwig said. “The quality of the camp was a lot higher than last year. There was great competition at every position, and we had to make some tough decisions.

“All the athletes who were chosen have the potential to play for the national team, whether that is right now or at some point in the next years.”

As a member of the B team, Thibeault, who is from Red Deer, Alberta, will begin training next week at the University of Manitoba, six hours a day, six days a week. The B team’s training camp will run through July 24.

The A team will be training through the summer and fall, also at the Team Canada Women’s Volleyball Centre in Manitoba, in preparation for the 2010 FIVB World Championships, which will be held in October in Japan.

Members of the 2012 A team will represent Canada at the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

“Ever since I was a little girl I told my dad my goal is to one day play for my country, and now I’ve done it,” an excited Thibeault said recently.

“(My selection) was actually a surprise. With all that talent, the selection camp can be pretty intimidating. It’s a completely different level of volleyball, but I think I played well.

“Most of the girls who made the A team play professionally around the world. It showed me how much I still need to improve, but I know I’m still young.”

Thibeault is no stranger to the national Canadian volleyball scene. Last August she competed for her native Alberta at the 2009 Canada Games at Prince Edward Island, returning home with a bronze medal.

“In my province I felt like I could stand out,” Thibeault added. “At the national level, everyone is good. It’s going to be very challenging for me, which is awesome. It’s going to challenge me to work on my weaknesses.”

Thibeault was named the Big Sky Conference’s Outstanding Freshman in 2007 and also earned second-team All-Big Sky honors. She earned first-team honors as both a sophomore and junior.

Last year she hit a Montana single-season-record .353 and finished first in the Big Sky in hitting, third in blocking and seventh in kills to lead Montana to a fourth-place finish in the Big Sky Conference and a spot in the program’s second straight Big Sky postseason tournament.

With the graduation of Taryn Wright, who was a three-year starter, Montana will be playing with a new setter in the fall.

“I think this experience is really going to help improve my leadership abilities as I go into my senior season,” Thibeault said. “That will be an important role for me to fill with a new setter.”

Thibeault was part of coach Jerry Wagner’s first recruiting class after he took over the Griz program in May 2006.

“From all indications, it was one of (Canada’s) best selection camps ever. They had all their top players there, and Jaimie proved herself to be one of their top 29 athletes,” Wagner said. “She continues to represent Montana, herself and her country in exactly the way you’d like to see.

“It’s rewarding to see it all pay off for someone who works as hard as Jaimie does. This just falls in line with everything she is trying to accomplish not only with our team but with her long-term goals as an athlete in her home country.

“We couldn’t be happier or more proud of her. It’s a great opportunity for her, and it will certainly benefit her teammates as well when she comes back to our program in August. It will set her up to achieve at a high level for us this fall in the Big Sky Conference.”