By: Thomas Tremblay, BA'16
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The men's volleyball team at St .Thomas University has its goals set high this season in the Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association conference—win a national championship.
The Tommies finished the 2016-2017 season with a record of 9-6, which was good enough for third place in the regular season standings. They were defeated by the University of Saint John Seawolves in the semi-finals, ending the Tommies streak of ACAA championship banners at three.
With a new head coach and seven recruits, the Tommies will be fresh faced and determined to bring the Tommies back to prominence in the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association.
Newly appointed STU bench boss Henri Mallet spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach with the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds' men's team—Atlantic University Sport champions in 2016 and 2017—and prior to that was on the sidelines with the University of Ottawa women's team.
He's also coached at the club volleyball level, as well as the Team NB provincial programs.
One of Mallet's first duties as Tommies head coach was to bring in a strong recruiting class to join the core returning players.
This year's additions are Garret Dickson of Miramichi, NB, Christian Christie of Langley, BC, Adam Hamilton of Hartland, NB, Ryan Ferrell of Fredericton, NB and Josh Dorey of Truro, NS. Will Leblanc and Ben Singer, a pair of pickups from Halifax, NS, round out the recruiting class, which is the largest since 2013.
"We have a very strong recruiting class joining the program," Mallet said. Each guy brings a particular skill to the team and the coaching staff is looking forward to utilizing those skills in the best way possible. We have a tall team this season and these rookies will help us tremendously in the blocking department."
Among the returning players is the lone fifth-year, Jonah Burridge, who will be transitioning to the setter position for his final season.
Burridge was originally recruited as a setter in 2013 but transitioned to the libero position the following year. The Fort St-John, BC, native established himself as the team's starting libero the past three seasons and was named ACAA libero of the year in 2015.
Also returning to the team for the 2017-2018 season are Ryan Dickson, Spencer Hay, Nathan Brown, Nick Jackson and Evan VanBuskirk.
"We are going to lean heavily on our returning guys for leadership and experience. The returning core is quite strong and it will be exciting to see them take the next step in their collegiate careers," Mallet said.
With such a young team, the Tommies are going to have to focus on the little things to return to prominence in the ACAA.
"You really get to know the other teams when you play in a small conference. Holland and UNBSJ will be strong offensively as they are returning some excellent hitters. Universite Sainte-Anne is a scrappy defensive team that you can never underestimate. It's going to be a very competitive and fun season."
The Tommies kick off the 2017-2018 campaign at home November 11 against the Holland College Hurricanes. First serve is at 6pm.