Host U of W men volleyball squad favourite at Wesmen Classic

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/12/2023 (1027 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The No. 5-ranked University of Winnipeg men’s volleyball team will carry the burden of tournament favourite when it hosts the Wesmen Classic later this month.

Third-year setter Alex Krykewich is eager to see how his team performs when the pressure is on.

“I’m always kind of surprised when I look and I see our name up there,” said Krykewich, whose Wesmen have been ranked as high as No. 3 earlier this season. “Sometimes I feel like when we’re ranked third or fourth sometimes we don’t play to that level. I’m kind of a big believer if you’re gonna be in those rankings, you’ve gotta play like that all the time.”

Winnipeg, which sits seventh in Canada West with a 7-5 record, has weekend sweeps of the UBC Thunderbirds and the defending national champion Trinity Western Spartans on its resume, but also had a disappointing splits with the Brandon Bobcats and UBC Okanagan Heat during the first half.

“We kind of have a bit of a lull one match it seems and then really come back strong in that second match,” said Krykewich, who is in the midst of a superb season with 9.83 assists per set, the third best total in the conference. “And we need to kind of find a way to be at that second match level on that first night.”

Added right side Liam Kristjanson: “If we’re able to bring our A game, I think we’ve shown that we can play with the best teams in the country.”

“If we’re able to bring our A game, I think we’ve shown that we can play with the best teams in the country.”–Liam Kristjanson

The Wesmen Classic, which will be a men’s volleyball tournament for the first time since 2017, will be an opportunity for the hosts to test themselves against unfamiliar eastern opponents such as the No. 11 Guelph Gryphons, No. 12 Laval Rouge et Or, New Brunswick Reds and Dalhousie Tigers.

The Manitoba Bisons, No. 13 Brandon and UBC-Okanagan complete the list of tournament participants.

Wesmen middle Ethan Duncan, who was sidelined with concussions issues for two seasons before being cleared to play his fifth year in 2023-24, relishes the opportunity to play for a national title contender.

“With Isaiah (Olfert) coming back and myself being healthy and the way the team was looking last year, it kinda felt like it was a perfect time to come back,” said Duncan. “I didn’t really get the chance to finish on my own terms, so being able to come back and play this last year is I feel like it’s sitting (right) with me.”

Duncan, who participated in 2017, said the high-level competition during the holiday break should serve his team well.

“You can only practise so many reps and when you play the same guys in practice or you kind of mix up the teams it’s not the same as playing another opponent, where you kind of have the game plan and it’s as much as it is a physical preparation, it’s still is that mental preparation as well going into that second half,” said Duncan.

Kristjanson plans to soak up the Classic atmosphere.

“I have a good memory of 2017 , the last time it was men’s volleyball,” he said. “I came in from out of town and watched some good volleyball — it’s really a feast for volleyball fan to come and watch some of the better teams in the country play. There’s multiple games a day, multiple courts going on. That was really good experience for me. So it’s kind of a cool bit of a full circle moment for me to be able to come back and have an opportunity to play in the Classic.”

During the tournament, the U of W athetic department is adding three more alumni to its Ring of Honour, namely Clarence (Wezer) Bridle, David Unruh and Dennis Nord.

All three men coached the Wesmen men’s volleyball team. Bridle was the program’s first coach and went on to a distinguished career as an official, Nord played on Winnipeg’s first national championship team and coached four consecutive national champions in the early 1970s while Unrah guided the Wesmen to back-to-back titles in 1986 and ‘87.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca