MVB | Quarter-final Preview

Article by Brian Swane, special to CW

Feb. 22, 2024 - Eight teams have qualified for the 2024 Canada West men’s volleyball playoffs, and every one of them has every reason to believe they can capture the Costa Chrysanthou Trophy.

The quarter-final round of the playoffs is scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, with four best-of-three series. Alberta takes on Manitoba and Mount Royal entertains Winnipeg, while Trinity Western hosts Brandon and Saskatchewan visits UBC.

While Canada West men’s volleyball is renowned for incredible parity among an elite group of teams, this year has potential to be one of the most competitive postseasons ever.

Every team in the field posted a regular season win percentage above .540. Just three wins separated first place from seventh place in the standings, while the teams in third through sixth place all have identical records. Three of the four quarter-final series saw the teams split their head-to-head games during the regular season.

The participating programs account for all but one of the last 28 Canada West men’s volleyball champions. That includes the defending champion Golden Bears, who defeated Trinity Western in the final last year to capture their conference-record 13^th title.

Quarter-final winners advance to the best-of-three semifinal round, which are scheduled for the first weekend of March.

Catch all Canada West playoff action live and on-demand at Canada West TV. 

Trinity Western Spartans (16-8) vs. Brandon Bobcats (16-8) at Langley Events Centre in Langley

• Series schedule:
  • Game 1 – Thursday, February 22 – 7 p.m. PST
  • Game 2 – Friday, February 23 – 7 p.m. PST
  • Game 3 (if necessary) – Saturday, February 24 – 8 p.m. PST
• Regular season head-to-head:
  • Jan. 19: Brandon 1 at Trinity Western 3
  • Jan. 20: Brandon 3 at Trinity Western 2
• Who to watch:
  • Henry Rempel (Trinity Western, fourth year, outside hitter) led Canada West with per set averages of 4.23 kills and 5.0 points, to go with a team-best .404 hitting percentage.
  • Philipp Lauter (Brandon, third year, middle) followed up his Canada West Second Team All-Star selection last season with a conference-leading 122 blocks in 2023-24. 

• Series schedule:
  • Game 1 – Friday, February 23 – 6 p.m. MST
  • Game 2 – Saturday, February 24 – 6 p.m. MST
  • Game 3 (if necessary) – Sunday, February 25 – 3 p.m. MST
• Regular season head-to-head:
  • Jan. 26: Winnipeg 0 at Mount Royal 3
  • Jan. 27: Winnipeg 2 at Mount Royal 3
• Who to watch:
  • Chris Byam (Mount Royal, fourth year, outside hitter) had the second-highest hitting percentage in the conference, at .337, and was third with 378 kills this season.
  • Alex Krykewich (Winnipeg, third year, setter) recorded 840 assists in 90 sets to rank fourth in Canada West this season with an average of 9.33 assists per set. 

Alberta Golden Bears (18-6) vs. Manitoba Bisons (13-11) at Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton

• Series schedule:
  • Game 1 – Thursday, February 22 – 7 p.m. MST
  • Game 2 – Friday, February 23 – 7 p.m. MST
  • Game 3 (if necessary) – Saturday, February 24 – 7 p.m. MST
• Regular season head-to-head:
  • Feb. 9: Manitoba 3 at Alberta 2
  • Feb. 10: Manitoba 0 at Alberta 3
• Who to watch:
  • Isaac Heslinga (Alberta, third year, outside hitter) led Canada West with a .310 hitting percentage, and notched 446.5 points, third most in the conference this season.
  • Jonah Dueck (Manitoba, third year, middle) had 13 solo blocks and 68 block assists in 61 sets to rank first in Canada West this season with an average of 1.33 blocks per set. 

UBC Thunderbirds (16-8) vs. Saskatchewan Huskies (16-8) at War Memorial Gymnasium in Vancouver

• Series schedule:
• Game 1 – Friday, February 23 – 8 p.m. PST
• Game 2 – Saturday, February 24 – 7 p.m. PST
• Game 3 (if necessary) – Sunday, February 25 – 5 p.m. PST
• Regular season head-to-head:
  • Feb. 9: UBC 2 at Saskatchewan 3
  • Feb. 10: UBC 3 at Saskatchewan 1
• Who to watch:
  • Mason Greves (UBC, third year, setter) was among the best at his position in 2023-24, ranking third in Canada West for both digs per set, 2.18, and assists per set, 10.13.
  • Ethan Smith (Saskatchewan, second year, libero) had a career-high 193 digs to rank fourth in Canada West after being an All-Rookie team selection in 2022-23.