Veteran BU men's volleyball standout Thomas Friesen and Australian import Ella Averill of Bobcat women's basketball are the Smitty's Sportsline Lounge Athletes of the Month for January.
 
Friesen had a solid start and a fine finish to the month of January.
 
The fifth-year outside hitter was a consistent scoring threat in BU going a perfect 4-and-0 on the road to begin 2026.
 
Friesen had a match-high 10 kills to open the second-half of the Canada West regular season as the reigning national champions swept the Fraser Valley Cascades on Jan. 9. He hit .455 in the rematch as the 'Cats made quick work of their opponents. Friesen tallied 10 kills on 22 swings and made no errors.
 
The January 30-31 weekend at MacEwan saw Friesen help the Bobcats return to their winning ways. He hit .382 and led all scorers with 17 kills in the opening contest of the series. Friesen added seven more kills in the next outing against the Griffins that saw Brandon take it in straight sets.
 
Meanwhile, Averill has brought an ample amount of confidence and grit to the Bobcat women's basketball program in her first Canada West season.
 
The Aussie had clutch performances in helping her team go undefeated at home in the second-half.
 
She combined for 42 points and 20 rebounds in the first weekend of 2026 as BU earned back-to-back triumphs against the Winnipeg Wesmen.
 
Averill gave the Bobcats another spark on Jan. 30-31 against the visiting Griffins. She had 14 points and nine rebounds as BU cracked the century mark to the start the two-game series. Averill then poured in a career-high 29 points as the Bobcats prevailed once more to put themselves in a prime position to clinch a playoff spot.