WVB: Cascades top preseason poll

A new season of Canada West women's volleyball gets served up this Friday, and it's anyone's guess as to which team is going to emerge on top in early March.

CW coaches were split in what proved to be one of the closest pre-season coaches polls in recent memory. Five teams received first place votes, including University of the Fraser Valley, Alberta, UBC, Manitoba and Trinity Western.

The UFV Cascades narrowly took top spot, garnering four first-place votes. The Cascades are looking to take another step forward after a quarterfinals appearance last season, and will be led by the reigning CW and U SPORTS women's volleyball player of the year in outside hitter Gabrielle Attieh.

Attieh led the nation in kills and points last season, while becoming only the fifth player in CW history to eclipse the 400 kill mark in a single season. A threat on both offence and defence, the Surrey, B.C. product also finished seventh in the conference in digs.

Placing second in the poll were the Manitoba Bisons, who return their entire roster and will be led by hometown product Raya Surinx. Last year's U SPORTS Rookie of the Year played a massive role in helping the Bisons advance to nationals last season for the first time since 2014.

Fifth-year libero Kacey Jost will lead the defending national champion UBC Thunderbirds into battle, as they ranked third in the coaches poll and will look to recreate their magical U SPORTS title run. The pillar of UBC's defence, Jost was named Canada West Libero of the Year for 2022-23, the first time in eight years the award was handed out and the first Thunderbird to win since Claire Hanna in 2010. Jost amassed 337 total digs on the season for an average of 4.01 per set.

A young Alberta Pandas side finished fourth in the poll and will feature several first-year student-athletes guided by new head coach Carolyn O'Dwyer. A large work load will fall to the Panda's veterans, especially fifth-year outside Lauryn Tremblay. The second team CW All-Star finished third in the conference with 333 kills and 3.7 kills per set a year ago, and will once again see a healthy dose of attempts for the Pandas this season.

Defending CW champion Trinity Western rounded out the top five. The Spartans went an impressive 22-2 last season before going 5-0 in the Canada West playoffs to capture the conference crown. The Spartans will be led by third year middle Kaylee Plouffe.

"Kaylee is a force at the net offensively and defensibly," says Spartans head coach Ryan Hofer. "Our ability to get her the ball off serve receive and position her to take high quality swings allows us to form our offence and set up the people around her to be successful."

 

 

The action begins Friday with a full slate of seven games, including a hotly anticipated season opening matchup between UFV and TWU.

For the complete schedule, click here.

WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL ON CANADA WEST TV

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2023-24 CW WVB PRESEASON COACHES POLL

Team - Points (First-place votes)

1. Fraser Valley Cascades - 153 (4)
2. Manitoba Bisons - 143 (3)
3. UBC Thunderbirds - 141 (3)
4. Alberta Pandas - 137 (3)
5. Trinity Western Spartans - 116 (1)
6. UBCO Heat - 112
7. Calgary Dinos - 103
8. Thompson Rivers WolfPack - 79
9. Mount Royal Cougars - 78
10. Saskatchewan Huskies - 74
11. Winnipeg Wesmen - 59
12. MacEwan Griffins - 39
13. Regina Cougars - 27
14. Brandon Bobcats - 13

Team by Team Preview 

1. UFV Cascades

Key performer: Gabrielle Attieh

What more can you say about the reigning Canada West and U SPORTS women's volleyball player of the year? Attieh led the nation in kills and points last season, while becoming only the fifth player in Canada West history to eclipse the 400 kill mark in a single season. A threat on both offence and defence, Attieh also finished seventh in the conference in digs in 2022-23. In addition to her play on the court, Attieh's leadership and experience will be important for a team looking to improve on last year's playoff finish.

From the coach: "What will be key to our team's success this year will be that we now have the right pieces and physicality to compete, but also the experience and understanding of the immense competition each weekend holds while playing against fellow Canada West opponents. We are feeling confident with the returning players who have shown that they can be successful at this level, as well as some key new additions and transfers," – Janelle Rozema

2. Manitoba Bisons 

Key performer: Raya Surinx

Reigning U SPORTS Rookie of the Year Raya Surinx played a massive role in helping the Bisons advance to nationals for the first time since 2014, and she stayed busy this summer.

Surinx was named to Team Canada's NextGen roster, travelling to Mexico for the Pan Am Cup and to the Dominican Republic for the NORCECA Final 6.

The skills she picked up, playing against the best from around the world will reap rewards for the Herd in 2023-24. Already gifted with one of the nation's best spin serves and the power to hit smash through hands on a double or triple block, the sky is the limit for Surinx this year, as she adds to a roster that did not graduate a single athlete from last season's nationals group.

From the coach: "We have returned our entire roster for 2023-24 and our key to the upcoming season will be to not assume that continued improvement will not happen without a high level of input, nor our performance from last year," – Ken Bentley

3. UBC Thunderbirds 

Key performer: Kacey Jost

The pillar of UBC's defence, Jost was named Canada West Libero of the Year for 2022-23, the first time in eight years the award was handed out and the first Thunderbird to win since Claire Hanna in 2010.

Amassing 337 total digs on the season for an average of 4.01 per set, the St. Albert, Alberta product allowed just 18 service aces against through 84 sets during the regular season. Playing every match this season, Jost helped limit the opposition to an average .130 hitting percentage.

Helping UBC to their 13th national championship victory last season, Jost was named a tournament All-Star.

From the coach: "Our team has graduated a lot of experience but we also return players that we key for our National Championship win. In addition we have younger players ready, willing and eager to get their chance to step up and shine.  We are excited for the potential of the group this year," – Douglas Reimer

4. Alberta Pandas

Key performer: Lauryn Tremblay

On a rebuilding team featuring a new head coach and seven first-year Pandas, a large work load will fall to the veteran student-athletes, especially fifth-year outside Lauryn Tremblay.

The second team CW All-Star finished third in Canada West with 333 kills and 3.7 kills per set a year ago, and will once again see a healthy dose of attempts for the Pandas this season.

5. Trinity Western Spartans

Key performer: Kaylee Plouffe

"Kaylee is a force at the net offensively and defensibly. Our ability to get her the ball off serve receive and position her to take high quality swings allows us to form our offense and set up the people around her to be successful. I am excited to see the hard work that she has put in over the past few seasons and summers put her in a place to be one of the most efficient players in the country." - Head Coach Ryan Hofer

6. UBCO Heat

Key performer: Amaya Perry

Perry heads into her fourth season with the Heat and is poised to take on a larger role with the team. After the graduation of two key pieces of the UBCO attack from a year ago, Perry, a former U SPORTS Rookie of the Year, is more than ready to step into the spot light and be the focal point of the Heat's offensive attack. After just three seasons with UBCO, she already ranks 11th all-time in program history for total kills and 10th all-time in total digs, showing she has all the tools to be a top player in the conference this year.

7. Calgary Dinos

Key performer: Sheridan Coninx

Sheridan Coninx has been a key player for the Dinos since the day she stepped on campus. The third year has played in all 51 matches already and has over 250 kills and over 150 total blocks in her first two seasons on the court.

From the coach: "U of C has an experienced group with depth across each position this season. The team is looking to build on past performances and experiences and hope to position themselves as national championship contenders," - Christine Biggs

8. Thompson Rivers WolfPack

Key performer: Ema Palkovicova

An electric outside hitter, Ema Palkovicova is a constant offensive threat for the TRU WolfPack. In her first year with TRU last season, the business major from Bratislava was near the top of the conference in most offensive categories before missing the second half of the season due to injury. Returning for one final season with the 'Pack, Palkovicova looks poised to lead a promising young WolfPack squad into the 2023-24 campaign.

From the coach: "We are a young team after graduating four seniors last year we enter the season with no player beyond their third year of eligibility.  This young group is focused and committed to pushing our boundaries every day to compete with the best teams in the country on a daily basis," – Chad Grimm

9. Mount Royal Cougars

Key performer: Emma Boyd

Boyd was a mainstay in the Cougars lineup in at middle during 2022-23. She will take on an even larger role, be a focal point on the MRU offence and be trusted to lead her team on defence with her blocking skills.

10. Saskatchewan Huskies

Key performer: Mandi Fraser

Mandi Fraser is back for her final year with the Huskies and looks to continue her dominance in the middle. Mandi's experience and ability at the net will be extremely valuable this season as she looks to end her career leading our team back to the playoffs. - Head Coach Mark Dodds

From the coach: "We are looking to get back into the playoff picture after missing last season. Our size and experience will make us a challenge to play against and we hope to be able to compete with any team in the Canada West. Extremely excited about the make-up of our team and ready to get going this season!," – Mark Dodds

11. Winnipeg Wesmen

Key performer: Selva Planincic

As the Wesmen reload after losing six players to graduation, including top attackers Emma Parker and Ashleigh Laube, the former No. 1 high school player in Manitoba will now be looked upon as an offensive leader for a young Wesmen group. Planincic is a versatile, athletic threat who can be expected to see a lot of sets her way.

From the coach: "Our team is fairly young with seven first years on our roster. Our strength will lie in our defensive play led by our third year libero Taylor Cangemi and we look to compete offensively led by our fifth year setter Portia Switzer and our third year LS/RS Selva Planincic," - Phil Hudson

12. MacEwan Griffins

Key performer: Mariah Bereziuk

Among the kills leaders in Canada West last season, the veteran dynamic outside hitter accounted for 36 per cent of the Griffins' attack in 2022-23 and will figure large into their plans again. Bereziuk also brings a strong defensive game (second in digs on the Griffins in 2022-23) and factors into the team's block defence as well. Her veteran leadership will be key for a Griffins team looking to get back to the post-season for the first time since 2019-20.

13. Regina Cougars

Key performer: Cassadi Klapak

The Cougars head into the season with third-year player Cassadi Klapak as the starting setter and one of the team's captains. Klapak was the U of R's setter for most of her first season, played a key supporting role last year, and appears poised for a breakout campaign in 2023-24. The versatile Klapak isn't shy about hitting, either, as she put down 5 kills on 8 attacks to go along with 28 assists in the team's final non-conference match against Winnipeg.

14. Brandon Bobcats

Key performer: Carly Thomson

Played in every set of every match for the Bobcats in 2022-23. Led the team in assists (see above) and provided leadership when needed most. Third on the team in digs (155) and fourth in blocks (26), proving she's just as valuable on defence as she is running the offence.