Wesmen star enjoying playoff experience

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This article was published 05/03/2018 (2767 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Volleyball player Adrian Dyck, a graduate of Springs Christian Academy, was named the top male Wesmen athlete of the week on Feb. 26.

Dyck led his team in kills in three consecutive matches against the Brandon University Bobcats the previous weekend, helping the Wesmen to victory in the Canada West quarter-final in two wins.

The 6-5 outside hitter is in his third year with the team but this is his first playoff experience.
“In the first year I was injured and in my second year, I was red-shirting (sitting out a year of eligibility),” Dyck said.

The playoff experience lent him some extra power against Brandon.

“Something that got me pumped up was that this is the first year I’ve gotten to play in playoffs with the team, and that got me excited,” he said.

Dyck said he knew he had put in a lot of work this season and was confident because of it.
“I was just thinking about how I can do this. I have the skill, have the practice, and I can do what I can do,” Dyck said.

At press time the Wesmen were preparing for a tough battle in the conference semifinal against the Trinity Western Spartans, who were ranked first in Canada West, in Langley, B.C., on March 1, 2 and 3.

Dyck said being the underdog wasn’t a bad spot to be in, but acknowledged that the Wesmen’s rivals are physically bigger and won’t go down without a fight.

“I think in general they have some really good players, and they all jell as a team very well, so facing up against that is pretty difficult, and sometimes with us being a smaller team that make it seem difficult, but you gotta do it,” Dyck said.

Although smaller in size, Dyck added that the Wesmen aren’t any less skilled.

“Our coach (Larry McKay) always comes up with a game plan and so trying to stick to that helps. Playing to our strengths has helped a lot,” Dyck said.

“We have a pretty wide variety of hitters. We don’t just have one solid position, we’re good at spreading around and in order for other teams to keep up they have to be able to handle that.

“I think we’re a pretty well-balanced team.”

Dyck is currently in his fourth year of kinesiology at the University of Winnipeg and lives in St. Boniface.