After years of diving in headfirst, Annika Klumper decided to take a different plunge. 
 
Klumper, a 6-foot left side from West Kildonan Collegiate, has committed to the Winnipeg Wesmen women's volleyball team and is the second commitment of head coach Phil Hudson's 2026 recruiting class. 
 
Klumper is a late-arriver to volleyball having spent much of her youth in competitive diving before deciding she wanted to change course, finding volleyball in Grade 10 and quickly realizing that was her new sporting love. 
 
"I had switched to competitive diving about two or three years into doing it … and I enjoyed the sport, but I felt myself kind of leaning out of it, and leaning more to volleyball," Klumper said. "Before I started volleyball, when I was still in diving, I went to a few camps over a few summers. And coaches at the camps would say, 'oh, you should start volleyball.'
 
"And that's when I kind of realized I'm doing pretty good at volleyball, so I think I should try it out. I went from there, just trying to improve my skills. To be honest, when I first started, I didn't really know the game that well, and I had no idea that I'd be having this conversation and going to UW for it."
 
Volleyball embraces Klumper's height, where it became a detriment in diving. But Klumper believes the training she took on as a diver has been beneficial as she grows in volleyball.
 
"(Training) was almost always a workout," she said. "Every single time there was a practice you get to work on every muscle group there and, more specifically, legs, because you're always jumping and so I think maybe I got a little bit of strength there and in my arms."
 
In Klumper, Hudson believes the Wesmen have found a talent on the rise. 
 
"Annika is an excellent athlete who has developed into and excellent all-round left side player," he said. "She has a very live arm and plays the game well above the height of the net. She's a very competitive athlete with a solid work ethic and is an excellent student."
 
Klumper joked that when Hudson offered her a spot, she tried to play it cool.
 
"I was very excited. I said yes right away. I mean, I feel like I had a pretty straight face on, but on the inside, I was really excited. I just didn't want to seem too excited."
 
Klumper, who joins Jubilee Steppan in the 2026 class thus far, will enrol in the Faculty of Science with an eye on dentistry in the future.