Volleyball Final Four preview: Back-to-back champion Bears look to make it three in a row
Canada West Communications
NEW WESTMINSTER – Looking to win their third consecutive Canada West title, the Alberta Golden Bears enter this weekend’s conference men’s volleyball Final Four in a familiar position: the favourites.
The Bears, who went 23-1 during the regular season, are set to host the Canada West championship tournament this Friday and Saturday in Edmonton.
Joining Alberta are the Manitoba Bisons, Saskatchewan Huskies and Trinity Western Spartans.
While Manitoba, who finished second during the regular season, emerging from their quarter-final series with Mount Royal was no surprise, Saskatchewan and TWU’s wins over the past weekend were – at least according to the standings – surprises of varying degrees.
The Huskies downing the Winnipeg Wesmen – who handed the Bears their lone of the season on the final night of the regular season – in three games barely registered on the upset scale, as the teams headed into the playoffs as the 4th and 5th seeds respectively.
The Spartans three-game quarter-final win over the Calgary Dinos, however, was more unexpected, after the Dinos finished third in the conference with an 18-6, while TWU earned a 14-10 mark.
Regardless of the regular season and the quarter-final round of the conference playoffs, all four teams have a more than realistic chance at a nationals berth, as three of this weekend’s four squads will earn trips to CIS nationals March 10-12 (McMaster University).
You can catch all the Final Four action live on Canadawest.tv
Final Four Schedule
Friday, March 4
Saskatchewan (3) vs. Manitoba (2) / 3:00 PM MST / CW Final Four semifinal 1
Trinity Western (4) vs. Alberta (1) / 6:00 PM MST / CW Final Four semifinal 2
Saturday, March 5
Loser semifinal 1 vs. Loser semifinal 2 / 3:00 PM MST / CW bronze medal game
Winner semifinal 1 vs. Winner semifinal 2 / 6:00 PM MST / CW championship game
Keep an eye on
Alberta - Brett Walsh
Setter
4th-year
Calgary, AB
Walsh, now in his fourth season with the Golden Bears, has once again set himself apart from the rest of the country. Walsh led the CIS with an astonishing 11.76 assists per set, while reaching the 1000 assist plateau for the second consecutive season. To put Walsh’s excellence into perspective, the Calgary native would’ve topped his own single season record for assists (1,031) if the Bears would’ve played just six more sets this season.
Manitoba - Devren Dear
Right side
4th-year
St. Andrews, MB
Dear was first in the conference in 2015-16 in kills per set at 4.47 and started and played in 22 of 24 matches during the conference regular season. In addition, he was first in points per set at 5.0, while sitting fifth in conference total points with 388.5. His versatility on the court is highlighted as he also was sixth in Canada West in digs per set at 1.99 and 25th in total blocks at 49.
Saskatchewan - Jordan Nowakowski
Left side
5th-year
Rama, Sask.
University of Saskatchewan left side Jordan Nowakowski leads his team back to the Canada West Final Four in 2015-16 after performing at a high level all season. Nowakowski led the team with 3.60 kills per set this season and 28 service aces. He was solid defensively with a team-high 137 digs. The fifth-year will lean on his experience from last year’s fifth place finish at nationals to lead the Huskies this weekend.
Trinity Western - Ryan Sclater
Outside hitter
4th-year
Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Sclater is the veteran of the group on the outside and led the Spartans with 4.07 kills per set in the regular season, which is the best individual offensive performance in TWU history. The fourth-year star collected 10 or more points in 23 of 24 regular season games and continued his success in the playoffs, averaging 4.45 kill per set in TWU’s quarter-final series win over Calgary.
Men’s volleyball Final Four team previews
University of Alberta Golden Bears (No. 1 seed)
2015-16 CW regular season record: 23-1
2015-16 CW regular season finish: 1st
2015-16 CW regular season head-to-head record vs. Final Four teams: 6-0
Last CW Championship & Total CW Championships:
2014/15, 16
Last CIS Championship & Total CIS Championships:
2014/15, 8
2015-16 leaders:
Kills per set: 4.06 – Ryley Barnes, left side
Digs per set: 2.09 – Reed May, libero
Hitting percentage: .511 – Taylor Arnett, middle
Service aces per set: 0.46 – Chris Towe, left side
Assists per set: 11.76 - Brett Walsh, setter
University of Manitoba Bisons (No. 2 seed)
2015-16 CW regular season record: 19-5
2015-16 CW regular season finish: 2nd
2015-16 CW regular season head-to-head record vs. Final Four teams: 3-3
vs. Alberta (0-2)
vs. Saskatchewan (2-0)
vs. Trinity Western (1-1)
Last CW Championship & Total CW Championships:
2002-03, 1
Last CIS Championship & Total CIS Championships:
2002-03, 10
2015-16 leaders:
Kills per set: 4.47 – Devren Dear, right side
Digs per set: 1.99 – Devren Dear, right side
Hitting percentage: .585 – Josh Crellin, middle
Service aces per set: 0.22 – Luke Herr, setter
Assists per set: 11.10 – Luke Herr, setter
University of Saskatchewan Huskies (No. 3 seed)
2015-16 CW regular season record: 15-9
2015-16 CW regular season finish: 5
2015-16 CW regular season head-to-head record vs. Final Four teams: 2-4
vs. Alberta (0-2)
vs. Manitoba (0-2)
vs. Trinity Western (2-0)
Last CW Championship & Total CW Championships:
2003-04, 10
Last CIS Championship & Total CIS Championships:
2003-04, 4
2015-16 leaders:
Kills per set: 3.60 - Jordan Nowakowski, LS
Digs per set: 1.91 – Ettiene Hagenbuch, L
Hitting percentage: .396 – Robert Graham, MB
Service aces per set: 0.31 – Jordan Nowakowski, LS
Assists per set: 9.25 – C.J. Gavlas, S
Trinity Western University Spartans (No. 4 seed)
2015-16 CW regular season record: 14-10
2015-16 CW regular season finish: 6th
2015-16 CW regular season head-to-head record vs. Final Four teams: 1-5
vs. Alberta (0-2)
vs. Manitoba (1-1)
vs. Saskatchewan (0-2)
Last CW Championship & Total CW Championships:
2012, 2
Last CIS Championship & Total CIS Championships:
2012, 3
2015-16 leaders:
Kills per set: 4.07 – Ryan Sclater, outside hitter
Digs per set: 2.66 – Tyler Koslowsky, libero
Hitting percentage: .390 – Aaron Boettcher, middle
Service aces per set: 0.30 – Blake Scheerhoorn, outside hitter
Assists per set: 9.04 – Devyn Plett, setter
Canada West men’s volleyball history
Recent Canada West champions:
2014-15 – Alberta
2013-14 – Alberta
2012-13 – Brandon
2011-12 – TWU
2010-11 – Calgary
2009-10 – Alberta
2008-09 – Alberta
2007-08 – Alberta
2006-07 – TWU
2005-06 - Alberta
Recent CIS national champions:
2014-15 – Alberta
2013-14 – Alberta
2012-13 – Laval
2011-12 – TWU
2010-11 – TWU
2009-10 – Calgary
2008-09 – Alberta
2007-08 – Alberta
2006-07 – Winnipeg
2005-06 - TWU
About Canada West Championships:
Canada West Universities Athletic Association is the premier university athletic conference in the Canada, awarding a total of 19 conference championships annually in 11 different sports. With 17 members stretching from British Columbia to Manitoba, the conference is home to champion student-athletes that excel on the field, in the classroom, and in their communities.
The 2016 Canada West Volleyball Final Four is proudly sponsored by Mikasa Sports Canada. Since 1997, Mikasa Sports Canada, through Catsports Inc., has distributed quality products to better satisfy the demand of Canadian athletes and is the official ball supplier for Canada West volleyball.