September 18th, 2012 - Langley, BC
On the eve of the 2012-13 edition of Spartan Men's Volleyball's first exhibition match vs UBC-Okangan Heat the very unfamiliar feeling of uncertainty hangs in the air. After building for 5 years with much of the same core of players the Spartan Men's Volleyball program moves into the 2012-13 season absent some very familiar and key players. Gone are 2011 National Championship MVP Rudy Verhoeff, 2012 National Championship MVP Ben Ball and National Team member Marc Howatson. These three were all important pieces in the back to back championships and three consecutive national finals appearances by the Spartans. But like all good things their university careers must come to an end. So as the Spartans look to try to do what no team has done since the Winnipeg Wesmen of the 70's has done and earn a three peat they must do so with new faces stepping up into key roles.
The Spartans will look to new faces to fill the void left by the 'big 3' there are some mainstays that look to provide stability on the court for the 2 time defending champs. Middle blockers Lucas Van Berkel (4th - Edmonton, AB) and Dan Jansen VanDoorn (5th - Langley, BC) are back beginning their 3rd years on the starting line up together. They both spent time this summer as members of the National B Team where they improved their game immensely. Joining the giants are returning starters Steve Marshall (4th - Abbotsford, BC) and Jarrod Offereins (5th - Calgary, AB). Marshall too was a member of the National B team this summer and will be looked to as the key offensive threat for the Spartans on the outside. Offereins, the reigning CIS Libero of the Year, makes the move to the setter position for his 5th year replacing last year's Player of the Year, Ben Ball. While Jarrod has never played the position for any length of time he has looked good in the early season training.
With 4 returnees from last year's championship lineup in place the remaining three starting spots are largely up for grabs. There are a plethora of talented Spartans vying for the job and all the candidates are very accomplished in their young careers. Three junior national team outsides and one National Beach player will look to fill the vacancies on the outside for the Spartans this year. Brad Kufske (3rd - Abbotsford, BC), Branden Schmidt (3rd - Calgary, AB) and Derek Thiessen (3rd - Coquitlam, BC) all spent the summer of 2011 with the Junior National team and all are very explosive attackers. Nick Del Bianco (3rd - Surrey, BC) is a beach specialist and has been to the last 4 world beach championships for his age group. While his international experience in primarily on the beach Nick is a fantastical all around indoor player who's stability will be relied heavily upon this season.
With Offereins move to the setter position the final spot in the lineup will be contested by a couple talented libbers. John Wiebe (5th - Abbotsford, BC) who has been a 4 year back up will be the experienced presence in the libero spot for the Spartans. While John hasn't seen much Canada West match time he has trained the past 4 years against one of the best teams in the country on a daily basis. Battling for the libero position is Junior National Team libero Tyler Koslowsky (2nd - Abbotsford, BC). Tyler spend the summer as the starting libero for our nation as Team Canada finished 2nd at the NORCECA tournament qualifying for next summer's world championships. This summer's experience has been huge for Tyler as he comes into his second year as a seasoned libero and very capable of filling the role for the Spartans.
While the question of which of these fine athletes will emerge to solidify the lineup it is clear that the Spartans will posses a lot of firepower offensively and have great depth to move forward with. Rounding out the roster is a great cast of up and coming athletes who look to be mainstays in the Spartan line up down the road.
Last year's recruiting class was one of the Spartan's best nabbing 3 of the top 4 players in BC. Tyler Heppell (1st - Langley, BC) was voted the top high school player in BC in a coach's poll as he led his Langley Christian Lightning team to a bronze medal at the AA Provincial Championships and was named an alternate to this summer's Junior National Team. Ryan Sclater (1st - Port Coquitlam) was runner up to Heppell in the coach's poll which was high praise considering his high school, Terry Fox, didn't have a high school boys volleyball team. Ryan is also an accomplished basketball player leading his Terry Fox Ravens to the BC High School Provincial Title and garnering MVP honors along the way. Scott Plocktis (1st - Kelowna, BC) was voted 4th by the coaches and is a 'freaky' athletic setter who looks to be the Spartans setter of the future. All three of these high school stars were members of the U20 Team BC team this summer.
Rounding out the roster for the Spartans are a couple of future stars in the middle. Micah Jansen VanDoorn (3rd - Langley, BC) was also a member of Team BC this summer and was the top setter in his age group in high school but last season made the move to the middle position where he has been thriving. While still new to the position his movement and smarts make him a great middle blocker for the future. Danny Grant (4th - Chetwyn, BC) transfers to TWU from Columbia Bible College where he was a part of the Bearcats 2011 CCAA National Championship team. At 6'9 Danny is a very physical player who's spike and block touch are both within 1 inch of the Spartan program records (11'8.5 & 10'11.5 respectively). Danny will be redshirting for the Spartans this coming season to save eligibility to compete in a larger role in his final two years.
Familiarity is gone for the 2012-13 Spartans but in is place is youthful exuberance and a litter of talented players wanting to take their place in Spartan folklore. Names like Verhoeff, Ball and Doornenbal are now replaced by Kufske, Del Bianco, Thiessen and Schmidt. The names have changed but the Spartan way remains.
The 2012-13 campaign gets underway Wednesday, September 19th, 730pm vs UBC-Okangan at Kelowna Senior Secondary. The Spartans then continue their Okangan Tour with matches against perennial contender University of Alberta Bears September 20th & 21st. The 20th is 7pm at Princess Margaret HS in Penticton and the 21st is 6pm at UBC-Okanagan in Kelowna.
Let the fun begin...Go Spartans!!!
Location:Langley, BC
