OCAA MEN'S VOLLEYBALL TEAM PREVIEWS

Algonquin College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 13-0
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 3-0 (Gold)
Championships Won: 4 (’76, ’77, ‘78, ‘07)

Defending their OCAA Championship title will be on the minds of the Algonquin Thunder this season and with eight returning players, they should again be near the top of the OCAA Men’s Volleyball heap.

Veteran left side players Matt Marjanski and Colin Mayr both return to the 2007-08 line-up for coach Max Larrivee, as well as middle Adam Palmer and right side hitter Charles Hamilton. Ahmed Gaabass is also back to solidify the Algonquin defense in the libero position. Although not as deep on paper as the Mohawk Mountaineers, the Thunder are coming off a season that produced a National Championship bronze medal, so the team’s confidence should still be flying high.

After losing key players including setter Dave Keo, middle Brett Daily and outside hitter Quentin Skinner, the Thunder will look to replenish some talent with the addition of rookie Patrick Corriveau, a talented setter who is expected to step in and control of offence from the start.

Mohawk College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 11-1
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 2-1 (Silver)
Championships Won: 6 (’68, ’71, ’81, ’82, ’86, ‘06)

If their pre-season games are any indication of just how deep this team got over the off season after finishing second to the Algonquin Thunder last year, the Mohawk Mountaineers may just be the team to beat in the OCAA this season.

With a returning core that includes two time All-Canadian setter Peter Sniuolis and All-Canadian Jasmin Cull (left side), the Mountaineers have added more depth with another All-Canadian addition, former Durham standout Adam Schiedel. Also in the mix will be the seven other returning players from a year ago which includes 1st team All-stars Kevin Watson and Steve Pawelczyk. Rookie, Sean Lowe, will also step into the mix as the team’s libero, replacing former League All-star Matthew Schnarr.

Team chemistry may be the one element this team will be required to work on, but with the bitter taste of silver in their mouths, a lack of motivation should not be a factor. This team will also look to redeem a disappointing finish at the CCAA National Championship last year after earning the wildcard birth. Three just may be the charm for this team; look for them to return to the big show for the third consecutive year and be in the hunt for a National medal once again... this time on home soil.

Other notes: Both Adam Schiedel and Jasmin Cull are in a position to become the OCAA All-time leaders in service aces. Currently Schiedel sits second all-time with 72 career bombs in three years, while Cull sits sixth, 30 aces out of the top spot. Schiedel could also climb the total points all-time list where he currently sits fifth.

Fanshawe College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 8-3
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 4-1 (Bronze)
Championships Won: 1 (’70)

Hosting the OCAA Volleyball Championship this season should help motivate this London team. Coming off an 8-3 season that saw the Falcons bring home an OCAA bronze medal, rookie coach Josh Westgate will attempt to rally his players and make a serious run at another OCAA Provincial Championship medal on their home court. Westgate moves into the top role after serving as an assistant under Dave MacMillan last season.

The Falcons have acquired a serious one-two punch with Jordan McTavish and Derek Howes who were both named to the all-star team of the Mohawk College Invitational Tournament in late September. This team should be back in the thick of a playoff chase again this season.

Redeemer University-College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 7-4
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 3-2 (4th)
Championships Won: 0

Finishing fourth last year was a bit of a surprise for many onlookers, but for the Redeemer Royals it was nothing more than a post it note to say “take notes.” The Royals were young, talented and motivated one year ago and this season they should be able to build on their stunning playoff performance that saw them upset Durham in dramatic fashion to enter the main draw of the OCAA Championship.

Rookie of the Year Ryan Talsma returns to the squad and could be one of the most exciting and dynamic players to play in the OCAA this season. A provincial medal is not out of this team’s reach and with another year of experience under their belt, the Royals may be one of the few teams capable of spoiling the Mohawk Mountaineers parade.

La Cite Collegiale
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 3-10
2006-2007 Playoff Record: did not qualify
Championships Won: 0

Bench boss, Ion Ion, is back for his third season as the Coyotes head coach and welcomes the return of Simon Brouillard (Middle/offside) and Joeffray Lemay (libero) back to his line up. After a disappointing season last year, he hopes to rebound well with a young but hopeful team and assures this team will be exciting to watch as they continue to develop.

Loyalist College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 9-4
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 0-1
Championships Won: 7 (’87, ’95, ‘97, ‘98, ‘99, ‘02, ‘03)

With seven returning players returning to the Lancer line-up, including Dave Commerford (setter), Andrew Doucette (middle) and Rodel Tugadc (libero/power). Dave Templar returns for his second year as head coach of the Loyalist volleyball team. Combining his team’s experience with youth will be key to the team’s success and rookies Matt Woods (power) and Mark Mullen (setter) should factor heavily into the teams success.

With a lot of hard work throughout the year, the Lancers hope to be in the top of the East division at seasons end and in the hunt at the provincial championship.

Fleming Peterborough
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 0-13
2006-2007 Playoff Record: did not qualify
Championships Won: 0

The Fleming Knights struggled last season and again have nowhere to go but up in upcoming season. With a beautiful new facility to play their home games in, turning around a program that has struggles will be on the agenda for Keith Wills and Darral Rafuse who will be sharing the head coaching duties. They will also be assisted by Brad Wood, a former Knight player.

Lofty goals are not in the picture for the Knights, but improving with each game is. It is baby steps this season for a team that is building and finally in a position to take advantage of their recruiting to go with the four returning players, including second year setter Brad Denne.

Trent University
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 8-5
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 0-1
Championships Won: 0

The Trent Excalibur posted an 8-5 record in the regular season last year and earned a spot in the post season after finishing third in the East division. They will look once again to qualify for the OCAA Playoffs and improve on their pre-quarter round exit that Nipissing handed them one year ago.

Rusty Haines will make his OCAA Coaching debut from behind the bench and will have eight returning players including a core group that includes middle Wes Sutherland, outside hitters Paul Scott and Chris Ferguson-Martin, setter Stephan Jewitt and libero Josh Neadow.

College Boreal
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 1-12
2006-2007 Playoff Record: did not qualify
Championships Won: 0

Boreal found themselves in a tough situation last year going 1-12 in the regular season but this season is one of new beginnings, starting with a new head coach in Dan MacLean. A high school teacher and coach at Champlain High School in the Valley, MacLean will be joined by Stan Salewski who will serve as his assistant. The coaches have a few surprises up their sleeves, including lofty expectations of surprising a few teams in the OCAA and securing a playoff position.

Not only will there be a lot of new faces on the coaching staff, but there will be on the court this year as well as the Vipers return only two players, including setter Jason Marier, who missed a significant number of games last season due to injury. Joining him will be a cast of rookies that include Eric Mayer and Thierry Dugas, two middles full of talent who have the potential to lead this team to a strong season. Larry Armitage will also be looked upon to contribute to the Boreal offence and lead the way as the go to outside hitter.

Cambrian College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 5-8
2006-2007 Playoff Record: did not qualify
Championships Won: 0

Stephen Beausoleil returns for his 6th year as the head coach of the Golden Shield and brings back with him eight returning players. James Castonguay will assume his duties in the ball distribution department and will look to left side hitters Chris Montgomery who averaged 2.13 PPG last season and Ron LeBlanc 2.89 PPG to put the bulk of the points up on the board. In the middle Christian Copp who posted 1.44 PPG will be the work horse for the team in the middle and will be counted on to slow down the middle attack of the opposition.

Although they did fail to qualify for provincial championship last season, it is certainly an attainable task this season.

Durham College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 10-3
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 0-1
Championships Won: 1 (’96)

“We are expecting the team to be very competitive in our division and show great improvement as the season progresses,” commented head coach Gord Williamson on his 2007-08 team. And with six returning players, of which five started last year, the sixth year coach should be in the season end mix, especially after being ousted in the opening round crossovers last season by a talented Redeemer University-College team.

With high expectations for a breakout season for Jamie Mayer, Jon Graham and Derel Estabrooks, Williamson will also rely on some key rookies include power hitter Mike Goulding and right side Matt Mahorn to put this team back on top of the Central East division.

Georgian College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 6-7
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 0-1
Championships Won: 0

Size was on the menu this off season for the Georgian Grizzlies and their three new rookies will be tough to miss when they walk on the court. Averaging more than 6’6, head coach John Moore will have to be sure the air up there is plentiful for his trio of freshmen: Mike Hammond a 6’7 middle, Mike Adams a 6’6 setter and Tommy Knapik a 6’6 left side hitter.

Coming back down to this atmosphere, the Grizzlies return seven from the team that finished 6-7 and fell to Fanshawe in a cross-over play off game a year ago, including right side hitter William Oyetakin, setter Scott Cavasin and left side hitter Bradley Dashney. Hoping to avoid the injury bug that plagued the team last season, Georgian hopes to battle for the top spot in the Central East and earn a spot at the Provincial Championship table.

Seneca College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 10-3
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 2-2
Championships Won: 0

Jason Cliff is back for his fourth year behind the bench of the Seneca Sting. With two returning players Cliff will turn to JR Sapienza, a 6’4 power hitter from Scarborough to lead the team’s offence when he returns from injury. It is speculated that depending on how quickly he recovers will directly effect how deep this team will go into the post season.

With that said, Cliff will have to rely on rookies Eric Rathbone (setter), Shaun Hinds (rightside) and Kyle Thomson (libero) to pick up the slack. With the playoffs as the goal, the Sting want to make an impact in the playoffs this season and make their way back to the top of the OCAA game.

Canadore College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 1-11
2006-2007 Playoff Record: did not qualify
Championships Won: 0

After a disappointing season in 2006-07, the Canadore Panthers have made some changes that should reflect a new attitude. First off, fans will see a new head coach behind the bench. Mike Smith will make his debut for the Panthers and will begin plotting a strategy that will improve his team from their 1-11 record from a year ago and play competitively throughout the season.

With three returning players including team standouts Peter Clifford (middle) and Jeremy Trembley (middle/power), Smith should have a solid base to develop his team on. Also in the mix this season will be notable rookies Toby Wiens (middle) and Mason Trusswell (power), both of whom will be looked upon to come in and produce for the team right away.

Side note: Peter Clifford had an opportunity to become the schools all-time leading blocker this season.

Humber College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 5-7
2006-2007 Playoff Record:
Championships Won: 3 (’74, ’75, ‘05)

Humber takes to the court with a National Championship appearance in their back pocket as Humber hosts the 2008 CCAA Men’s Volleyball Championship. With this in mind the Hawks are gearing up to take a run at the provincial title and earn a solid seed at the nationals.

Coach Wayne Wilkins, a former CCAA Coach of the Year, returns and is looking forward to a successful season. Recruiting has been solid, veterans are prepped and ready to go and the injuries that sidelined key players at the end of last year are healed.

Humber will once again be led by Bobby Anderson and Steve Eichhorn. The Hawks feature seven retuning players. This combination of veteran presence and exciting recruits like Clayton Johnston, a power hitter from Kingston, will make the Hawks tough to beat.

Look for the Hawks to get stronger game in and game out as the season progresses. A schedule that includes holiday tournaments in Alberta and British Columbia will go a long way in preparing the team for both a provincial and national run.

Nipissing University
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 8-4
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 1-2
Championships Won: 0

This season new head coach Grant Ross welcomes back the core of last years team that competed at the OCAA championship, and a number of new faces to the team. Veterans Seamus Strutt, Eric Yung and Matt Brady will be expected to provide the bulk of the scoring once again and setter Connor Edie returns for a third year.

The club will also be looking for contributions from a number of newcomers, including Andrew Pahapill, a transfer student with OUA experience, and recent high school gradates Matt Rice (Westport) and Jared Lacombe (Arnprior). At 6'3" and 6'5" respectively, they provide some welcomed size to an experienced Lakers squad.

"On paper it looks like an interesting group to coach," said head coach Grant Ross. "There is a nice mix of size and experience and the challenge will be to see how it all fits together in September. Rice and Lacombe were both multi-sport athletes in high school and Pahapill has a year of experience under his belt from Windsor. If we can get contributions from them to go along with last year’s group, we certainly stand a good chance to build upon last year’s success."

Ross will be joined by Craig Ash, who returns as an assistant from 2006-2007 season and new assistant Travis Spiess, a former standout for the Lakers men’s team. Former head coach Duane Culin will remain on board as an assistant. "Duane and Craig have done a great job with this team in the past and hopefully with their help we can continue to improve." added Ross.

The Lakers kick off their season on the road at St. Clair on October 12th and will see their first action at home at the Nipissing Invitational Tournament scheduled for November 10 at the Robert J. Surtees Athletic Centre.

Sheridan College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 1-11
2006-2007 Playoff Record: did not qualify
Championships Won: 11 (’79, ’80, ’83*, ’84, ’85, ’89, ’90, ’91, ’92, ’93, ’94)
* denotes the only OCAA team to ever win a CCAA National Championship title.

The Sheridan Bruins struggled again last season and will again look to rebound from a disappointing 2006-07 season with a new attitude and outlook in 2007-08.

The Bruins will aim to climb the OCAA standings and become a more competitive team in their Central West Region this year. The Bruins lead the OCAA, and are the winningest team in Men’s Volleyball, with an impressive eleven championships. They are also the only team in OCAA history to capture a Men’s Volleyball National Championship title.

Niagara College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 8-3
2006-2007 Playoff Record: 1-2
Championships Won: 3 (’00, ’01, ’04)

The Niagara Knights turned around two season’s of dismal performances and captured the West Region title in 2006-07 earning them an automatic birth into the OCAA Championship. Once there, the did not have the performance the expected of themselves, being swept by both Mohawk and Redeemer teams after starting the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Nipissing. This season head coach Regg Miller will once again rally the troops and point them towards another shot at a provincial medal.

St. Clair College
2006-2007 Regular Season Record: 3-8
2006-2007 Playoff Record: did not qualify
Championships Won: 0

The St. Clair Saints are looking up and have set goals to climb the West Region standings this season. The team will have a tough task during their rebuilding phase, but with some hard work and tough defense, the Saints hope to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since joining men’s volleyball in 2000-2001.