‘A higher expectation on our performance this year’

The Winnipeg Wesmen have taken their lumps over the last two years.

The women’s volleyball team has been the younger sister to some of Canada West’s more veteran programs while it refilled its cupboard with talent and cut its teeth.

The Wesmen are optimistic that those days are behind them, however.

The core of this squad is all grown up now and looking to jump into the next echelon with the rest of the conference heavyweights.

“I feel super grateful to have been like a part of this core group that has kind of grown together on the team, and now we’re kind of taking on that leadership role and definitely putting more expectations on ourselves,” said Naomi Unger, the fourth-year setter.

“Overall, I think it’s made practices more competitive, and there’s definitely a higher expectation on our performance this year.”

Count Unger in that group of seasoned veterans who are steadfast in leading this team to new heights.

The Kelvin product waited patiently for her turn behind two senior setters in Portia Switzer and then Breanne Bazin before cracking into the lineup as a full-time starter last year, and made good on her opportunity.

“It was super important because we obviously had a lot of third years on the floor, but I was kind of the first one that hadn’t had a ton of playing experience from the year prior,” Unger said.

“As a setter, especially, your role affects everyone else on the team. You want everyone to trust you. So, kind of just earning that comfortability and trust in games was super important. My confidence, definitely, the second half and the first half for me, mentally, I think, were so different. And just being able to trust myself in high-pressure situations, that got a lot better for me in the second half for sure.”

Unger finished with 677 assists and ranked third in the country in assists per set (9.40). Both Unger and head coach Phil Hudson believe she hasn’t reached her ceiling either.

“She’s one of the leaders of our team, and she’s sort of the quarterback. She’s got a really good volleyball IQ, setting IQ, so she knows how to set up an offence, not just deliver the ball, but know why and when she’s doing that. And she’s a little bit of a chess player. She sort of sets things up for a number of plays down the road, and she’s done a really good job offensively trying to dump the ball and be an offensive threat, too,” Hudson said.

“She’s really developed to be a better all-around volleyball player, too. Blocking’s improving a lot, too, so it’s fun to watch her play and fun to give her a game plan and watch her try to execute it; it’s great.”

The Wesmen have experienced minimal turnover since last season, losing Taylor Cangemi, Hannah Schrader and Ava Pearson, and adding six new players to bolster their depth.

Replacing Cangemi, a program cornerstone, presents the biggest challenge, but it’s created a competitive battle for the starting libero job between Ashley Lawrence, Mira Foulkes and Taylor Labossiere — all of whom have impressed Hudson in pre-season action.

“We dress two liberos at different times, too, so it’s still an ongoing battle to see who’s going to get that spot, and I think it’s one that’s going to probably have all three players have impact in some way on the success of our team,” Hudson said.

The Wesmen return the rest of their starting lineup, including fourth-year left side Brooke Duncalfe, who earned second-team all-Canada West honours last season and will need to reach another level this year.

The depth around and behind Duncalfe on the outside is equally encouraging, including Megan Kendziora, Ella Werbiski and second-year outside hitter Anna Filippin-Buller, who earned conference all-rookie team honours last season.

“She is one of our best passers, best attackers, leads a team in service aces, and she has a big impact in a lot of different ways in the match,” Hudson said of Duncalfe. “And we have other players that can play that role, too. When she’s not on the floor, the load is a lot for all the other players. When she’s there, it lessens the load for the other players, so she’s pretty valuable to the success of our team for sure.”

A fast start is top of mind. The Wesmen have been slow to get out of the gates in recent years, and that’s forced them into a position where they’re scratching just to make the conference play-in game to earn the right to face the Alberta Pandas, who have ended their season in consecutive years.

“I think it’s definitely motivating,” said Werbiski. “Losing in the first round was disappointing, especially because we knew we were capable of more. But I think that experience the past two years has given us something to build off of, and we don’t want to have the same result this year. So we want to put ourselves in a better position and hopefully be able to make a deeper playoff run.”

Hudson said he believes the key to that will be an improvement in the Wesmen’s transition game. Defence has been the program’s forte, but turning those stops into points could lift the Wesmen into one of the more dangerous teams in the conference.

“Our goal is to try to be in a position where we’re not finishing in a spot where we have to play the top team in Canada West,” said Hudson. “We’re going to try to move up the ladder a little bit so that playoffs are a better outcome in the future.”

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