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Preview: Men’s Volleyball National Championships
MONTREAL (CUP) — The March 2-4 Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s volleyball national championships may end up having a very similar look to last weekend’s Canada West finals, although the setting will change from Edmonton to Hamilton, Ont.
The powerful Western Canadian schools consistently occupied all four of the first spots throughout the year in the national rankings, meaning anyone who manages to win a first-round match against defending-champion Trinity Western, the University of British Columbia, Winnipeg or Alberta will have pulled off a major upset.
It’s a tough call to predict which team will come out on top, although the odds on dogfights in the semi-final and medal rounds are almost a guarantee.
From the desks of the student newspapers at each of the schools across the country, here’s a look at what to expect of the participating teams.
TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS
Seed: First
National ranking: Second
Conference: Canada West
2006-07 record: 13-5
Playoffs: 4-0, CW gold
Nationals trip: Fourth
Medals: 1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze
LANGLEY, B.C. (CUP) — The playoff warriors, err, Spartans from Trinity Western will once again be aiming to come through when it counts most after last year’s surprise dominance of Alberta in the national final. Finishing fourth in Canada West with a 13-5 regular season record, TWU’s strong playoff performance has again catapulted them to the top.
Look for the team’s veterans to provide consistency and intensity during the high-pressure tournament. Josh Howatson and Steve Rogalsky will lead the attack alongside high-energy left-side Seth Schalk and the gritty Jeff Stel. The Spartans strength is in their ball control on first contact, translating to power kills. Dealing with the bull’s-eye that comes with favourite status just may be their greatest challenge.
- Justin Penner, Mars’ Hill
UBC THUNDERBIRDS
Seed: Second
National ranking: Third
Conference: Canada West
2006-07 record: 13-5
Playoffs: 3-2, CW silver
Nationals trip: Fifth
Medals: 1 silver
VANCOUVER (CUP) — UBC will be making its first appearance at the CIS nationals in 18 years, but expectations are high as the Thunderbirds enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
After starting the season slowly at 3-3, the T-birds rattled of 11-straight wins to climb back into contention in the difficult CW division, and carried that momentum all the way to the conference final before falling to Trinity Western.
UBC is led by rookie left-side Christoph Eichbaum and fourth-year right-side Andrew Bonner, whose 3.24 and 3.75 kills per game this season earned the two conference all-star selections.
- Boris Korby, the Ubyssey
WINNIPEG WESMEN
Seed: Third
National ranking: Fourth
Conference: Canada-West
2006-07 record: 14-4
Playoffs: 3-2, CW bronze
Nationals trip: 13th
Medals: 3 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze
WINNIPEG (CUP) — In 2003, the Winnipeg Wesmen program had just lost a slew of graduating players and completely revamped their roster with one of the deepest Manitoban recruiting classes in recent memory. Four rookies, coming off an under-18 club national championship, immediately assumed starting roles.
After a couple of lean seasons, those rookies are now in their fourth year and stand as a darkhorse pick for the national championship. Setter Dustin Addison-Schneider runs a well-balanced and versatile attack that begins, but far from ends, with CW all-stars Richard Wiebe and Ben Schellenberg. Pick your poison with this Wesmen offence — they have capable finishers at every position.
- Mike Pyl, the Uniter
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS
Seed: Fourth
National ranking: First
Conference: Canada-West
2006-07 record: 17-1
Playoffs: 0-2, CW fourth
Nationals trip: 15th
Medals: 3 gold, 3 silver, 3 bronze
EDMONTON (CUP) — After losing five starters to graduation and the national team, most wrote off the 2007 Alberta Golden Bears, figuring they’d have a down season while they rebuilt their roster. But CW coach of the year Terry Danyluk had other plans, going to his bench and pulling out two first-team conference all-stars: Joel Schmuland and Brock Pehar.
The Bears started the year with 16-straight wins and finished the regular season 17–1, but were upset in the playoffs, first by UBC and then by Winnipeg. If the team that won 16 in a row shows up, Alberta has to be a favourite to make their third national final in as many years.
- Paul Owen, The Gateway
DALHOUSIE TIGERS
Seed: Fifth
National ranking: Fifth
Conference: Atlantic
2006-07 record: 18-1
Playoffs: 2-0, AUS gold
Nationals trip: 26th
Medals: 1 silver, 2 bronze
MONTREAL (CUP) — The three-team Atlantic conference didn’t provide much of a challenge for the Tigers, although they did fare very well in interlocking play with the Quebec teams too. Losing only once (in five sets at Laval), Dalhousie cruised to an 18-1 record, earning by far the country’s best set won/loss ratio at 56-9.
Niklas Rademacher, a six-foot-10 German-born left-side, was third in the country for points-per-game while libero Jeff Weiler was the conference MVP en route to the most digs-per-set (3.47) in the CIS by a giant margin. The question is if they can manage to up their game to the level at which the western teams have played all year.
- Dan Plouffe, CUP sports bureau chief
LAVAL ROUGE ET OR
Seed: Sixth
National ranking: Eighth
Conference: Quebec
2006-07 record: 13-5
Playoffs: 2-0, QSSF gold
Nationals trip: 23rd
Medals: 3 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze
MONTREAL (CUP) — Even though they’ve been rebuilding since 2002, according to coach Pascal Clément, the Rouge et Or still haven’t missed a nationals since 1997. Laval set a goal before this season to win a CIS title in the next two campaigns.
“This year, if we’re ready, why not?” asks Clément. “The western teams are always good, but Miracle is not only on DVD — it happens in real life.”
Conference MVP Olivier Faucher, who played internationally for Canada this past September, sets up the attack for senior Vincent Demers-Caron along with Thierry Lavigne, Hubert Poirier and middle Jean-François St-Amour.
- Dan Plouffe, CUP sports bureau chief
QUEEN’S GOLDEN GAELS
Seed: Seventh
National ranking: Seventh
Conference: Ontario
2006-07 record: 18-2
Playoffs: 3-1, OUA gold
Nationals trip: Fourth
Medals: None
TORONTO (CUP) — The OUA champs are back in Hamilton for the second-straight year, looking to improve on last year’s fifth place result. The Gaels are led by third-year star Jeff Demeza, who had over 20 kills in each match of the OUA finals against McMaster.
To get past a tough opening round opponent in UBC and to do some damage, they’ll also need big efforts from setter Devon Miller, the CIS leader in assists, and libero Stuart Hamilton, who finished in the top-10 nationally with 145 digs.
- Amit Shilton, the Eyeopener
McMASTER MARAUDERS
Seed: Eighth
National ranking: Not ranked
Conference: Ontario
2006-07 record: 15-5
Playoffs: 3-2, OUA silver
Nationals trip: Sixth
Medals: None
MONTREAL (CUP) — The McMaster Marauders surprised some by reaching the OUA final and narrowly losing to Queen’s by two points the fifth set, even though they were already assured a spot at nationals as hosts. Even with that, the Marauders remain big-time underdogs compared to the west, which includes their first opponent, the defending champs from Trinity Western.
Right-side Daniel Smedley, OUA rookie of the year Shawn Bench and setter Ryan Hudson will need to use the home fans’ energy as best they can if they want to produce any upsets.
- Dan Plouffe, CUP sports bureau chief
Schedule: (Eastern time)
Friday, March 2
1 p.m. (#2) UBC vs (#7) Queen’s
3 p.m. (#3) Winnipeg vs (#6) Laval
6 p.m. (#4) Alberta vs (#5) Dalhousie
8 p.m. (#1) Trinity Western vs (#8) McMaster
Saturday, March 3
1 p.m. Consolation #1
3 p.m. Consolation #2
6 p.m. Semi-final #1
8 p.m. Semi-final #2
Sunday, March 4
10:30 a.m. Fifth place match
12:30 p.m. Bronze medal match
3:30 p.m. Gold medal match
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