Wesmen volleyball battle for bronze

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/03/2018 (2768 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

University of Winnipeg libero Logan Brennan is closing in on the conclusion of a stellar five-year U Sports volleyball career, but he doesn’t want it to end just yet.

Brennan and the seventh-ranked Wesmen leave today for Vancouver and Friday night’s Canada West bronze-medal showdown against the UBC Thunderbirds.

A victory there and Winnipeg will earn the last of the conference’s three berths in the men’s national championship tournament.

“Everybody would love to finish on a good note and win the bronze, but the big thing on the table right now is that berth at nationals,” the Bragg Creek, Alta., product said Wednesday.

After upsetting the No. 4-seeded Brandon Bobcats in the conference quarter-finals, the fifth-seeded Wesmen were beaten in the semifinals last weekend by the two-time defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Trinity Western Spartans. The Spartans and the No. 2-ranked Alberta Golden Bears, who both earned automatic berths in the nationals, will play for conference gold Saturday.

The national championship begins March 15 in Hamilton.

The host Wesmen were beaten 3-1 and 3-1 in a head-to-head matchup with the No. 3-ranked Thunderbirds in January. However, with lower-body injuries to starters Dave Bommersbach and Taylor Howe at the time, Winnipeg’s lineup was severely depleted and head coach Larry McKay was forced to juggle his lineup.

Among his moves was to shift the 5-11 Brennan from his normal role as a defensive specialist to the outside.

“It was probably the most difficult time of the year for the team,” Brennan said. “Simply because we had Dave and Taylor, our two starting outsides go down with fairly severe injuries. We were more or less in shambles, trying to put stuff together to make adjustments for that.”

Bommersbach missed the better part of six weeks with an ankle injury and is only now rounding into top form. Howe was sidelined for three weeks.

Going head-to-head with UBC in January isn’t a pleasant memory for McKay.

“We had a different lineup and we did fairly well against them at times, but it was pretty one-sided,” said McKay, who was named Canada West men’s volleyball coach of the year this week for the third time in his 29 seasons at the helm of the Wesmen. “UBC served very well in both matches and controlled the game. It wasn’t very close.”

McKay has plenty of respect for the Thunderbirds.

“We have a different team now and I’m eager to get out and match up against them and see how we do, because they are the most talented team, probably, in the country and so we’ll have a great test for our group playing against such great players,” McKay said.

Brennan, meanwhile, relishes the opportunity to rise above the season’s disappointments.

“I think it’s definitely more rewarding,” Brennan said. “At the end of the day, no team’s ever going to have a perfect season… The best teams are the ones that are able to peak at the right time and battle through adversity, whether that adversity comes through injury or poor performances.”

AWARD SEASON: Brennan, a four-time academic all-Canadian and the U of W’s nominee for a Rhodes Scholarship, has been named winner of the Canada West Student-Athlete Community Service Award.

The honour singles Brennan out for his excellent academic achievement as well as continuing dedication to volunteer and charitable work.

The Alberta native has participated in the Banded Peak Challenge, a charity event that serves as a fundraiser for the Easter Seals Alberta’s Camp Horizon, and has donated his time to causes such as Ronald McDonald House, Kids Sport Calgary and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @sawa14