The St. Thomas Tommies men’s volleyball program is starting their 2022-2023 recruitment class with a splash, adding standout setter Raphael Fiset from Calgary, Alberta.

Fiset started playing volleyball with the Junior Canucks volleyball club in Calgary when he was 13 years old. He eventually moved over to the Elite West club, where he’s been a standout for the past three seasons.

Despite the struggles the Covid-19 pandemic has presented, and the lack of on court playing time, Fiset was recommended for the youth national team this past summer, an experience he called “eye opening”.

This is the type of experience that has Tommies’ head coach, Henri Mallet, giddy about his new setter.

“From the first time I saw Raph play over a year and a half ago, I knew he was a special player. He knows how to control the game as a setter and can make some game changing plays from the service line and defensively. He is going to be an extremely important part of the future of the program, and we are very happy to have him on board. I’d compare him to Marc Blinn, who had a great career at STU. Marc was extremely efficient as a setter and was such a competitor, I see the same thing when I watch Raph play,” said Mallet. 

With current setter Henry Doucet at the helm, Fiset is excited to learn from the veteran when he arrives on campus next September.

“My biggest goal going into my first year is to find a rhythm that works. With a veteran setter like Henry on the team I want to be able to learn from the offense that he has built and help add to it,” said Fiset.

As for what he will bring to the table, Fiset says communication is key.

“I want to put my hitters in the best position possible to be successful and being vocal will definitely be a very essential tool in doing that.”

As a result of ongoing challenges and restrictions in each of the three Maritime provinces due to Covid-19, the Tommies men’s volleyball team and the entire ACAA are currently on pause. A restart date has yet to be announced, but member schools are working through several contingencies and will be prepared to activate league play once conditions allow. 

Release: Submitted by STU Men's Volleyball