The 2019-20 season is going to be a big one for the St. Thomas University Tommies.
They are set to host the 2020 CCAA Men’s Volleyball Championships in March. Hosting the tournament means the Tommies have an automatic bid to Nationals, but that doesn’t have head coach Henri Mallet deterred from his team goals.
“Our goal as a program has always been to win a National Championship, and I believe we are heading in the right direction, improving yearly and bringing in high performance athletes from across the country,” said Mallet about this year’s team. “We want to reach the CCAA Nationals by winning the ACAA Championship and win some matches at Nationals.”
Returning for the Tommies are their two ACAA All-Stars from last season, Christian Christie (Langley, BC) and Garret Dickson (Miramichi, NB), as well as reigning ACAA Rookie of the Year, Henry Doucet (Truro, NS). Joining those three as returning Tommies are outside hitters Nathan Brown (Fredericton, NB), William LeBlanc (Prospect Bay, NS) and Benson Garchinski (Biggar, SK), middles Braden Cook (Adelaide, AUS) and Adam Hamilton (Hartland, NB) and libero Brendan Murphy (Fredericton, NB). This year’s youth movement consists of outside hitters Dallas Melnick (Crystal Beach, ON) and Adam McDougall (Calgary, AB), setter Austin Atkinson (Truro, NS), libero Bryan Lagace (Fredericton, NB) and middle Noah Tulk (Oromocto, NB).
“Obviously, returning ACAA All-Stars, Christian Christie and Garret Dickson, are going to play a key role for our team, but we are excited on the depth of our roster and expect contributions from everyone on the floor,” said Mallet, last year’s ACAA Coach of the Year. “We honestly think we have guys coming off the bench for each position that can make a difference for us, creating a healthy competition between our guys and pushing us to maintain a high level of play as a group.”
This year’s Tommies team might not be as tall as previous teams, but Mallet is excited about what this team will bring to the table each match.
“We lost a bit of height after losing Ryan Dickson and Ben Singer, but we believe our block defense should be superior as a team. That being said, we’ll be able to spread our offence, with our roster being as deep as ever. Our offence should be entertaining as we have the luxury of having many talented players on the floor and coming off the bench.
Mallet knows as a volleyball fan it is exciting to be able to host the National Championship here in Fredericton, but as a coach, he knows his team needs to take the season one game at a time.
“Obviously, as a volleyball fan, we are excited to be able to host and bring this type of competition to our city, as an opportunity like this doesn’t happen often. It’s always nice to be able to play in front of a home crowd but our focus is on the ACAA Championship in February. For that reason, we haven’t really talked much as a team about hosting the 2020 CCAA Nationals.”
The Tommies will open their regular season Wednesday night against the UNBSJ Seawolves, in Saint John, and will have to wait until Saturday, November 16th to open their home schedule against the USA Dragons.