Both the VIU mens and womens volleyball teams have lofty goals for the 2019/20 season, aiming to build on a strong foundation of success. (Northfield Photography)

By Dan Marshall

LOFTY GOALS

VIU volleyball teams set sights high for 2019-20 season

Oct 11, 2019 | 11:34 AM

NANAIMO — It’s hard to imagine this volleyball season at Vancouver Island University being better than the last, but that’s the goal.

In the early 2019, the Mariners won double gold at the PACWEST provincials and at the CCAA nationals the women won gold and the men took home bronze.

As the 2019-20 season gets set to open expectations are still sky high for women’s coach Shane Hyde.

“I think it would be a disappointment if a national championship isn’t in our hands by the end of the season. I’m not usually that bold but after winning the last two national championships and looking at the team I have this year, I’m really happy with what we’ve got.”

The Mariners lost their captain from last year in Chantal Cumming but there is a lot of talent on the roster to fill that void.

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Leadership will come from fifth year players Andrea Cankovic and Amanda Dobbyn, as well as fourth year Keira Christensen.

Cankovic has won three national titles as a Mariner while Dobbyn and Christensen both have two.

At the Mariners home opener on Oct. 12 there will be a banner raising, which Hyde wants the players to embrace.

“I think with any championship you have to go back for a few minutes and enjoy it, and then once it’s done flip the switch and get ready for the new season.”

That new season will open at Camosun on Oct. 11 and then the Chargers will be in Nanaimo the following day.

The VIU versus Camosun rivalry is meaningful for both the women’s and men’s programs.

For the women, they lost their last match of the year in Camosun back in February which spoiled their bid for an undefeated regular season.

On the men’s side, VIU stopped Camosun’s run of four straight PACWEST titles when they beat the Chargers in the gold medal game at provincials.

Men’s coach Abe Avender said the rivalry between the two sides has been massive.

“Last year was our fourth final against them in a row. That rivalry I don’t think can get any better. But I think it’s a very respectful one.”

The men will be led by their lone fifth year player, Braydon Brouwer.

Avender said Brouwer has had a decorated career with three All-Star selections as well as being named a PACWEST Volleyball Player and VIU Athlete of the Year in 2017.

“I think he probably will leave here with the most kills all time as a Mariner. But I think he wants to leave here with provincial and national gold.”

Losing a key pillar of the team at the end of last season in fifth year player Doug Groenendijk will change the dynamic of the squad but Avender is already happy with the new players who have joined the fold and the culture that has begun to emerge.

Even though the Mariners have been consistently good under Avender, 2019 brought the first PACWEST gold medal and CCAA medal since 2007.

Before last season Avender made a subtle change that he believes helped change the team’s fortunes in big games.

It came out of a conversation with a Canadian National Team coach.

“He asked ‘who do you want in a fifth set? Someone who’s made 10,000 serves or a guy who’s played a lot of scrimmages’,” Avender said. “So we really backed off and went right into fundamentals. Some of these guys are top level volleyball players and we went right into these drills doing rep after rep after rep.”

Even though the players wanted more scrimmages the coach was adamant that doing what might be considered ‘boring’ drills was the best way forward.

“I said we’ve got to change something up. I’ve been doing the same thing for a long time but in the playoffs we’ve got to get further along. We’ve got to get out of fun here for a while and get good at something. The buy in to that has been amazing.”

The journey to a national championship starts Oct. 11 in Victoria and the end will be across for the men’s and women’s nationals.

In March 2020 the CCAA Men’s Nationals are in Fredericton, New Brunswick and the Women’s Nationals will be in Quebec City.

dan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On twitter: @danmarshall77