Posted: Oct 27, 2022

MCAC Women’s Volleyball – 2022-23 Season Preview

The Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) women's volleyball season looks to be as competitive as ever for a conference championship. The MCAC winner will then move onto to the Nationals as being MCAC's second ever representative at Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women's Volleyball Championship hosted by Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo, BC from March 8-11, 2023.

Last year, Université de Saint-Boniface (USB) Les Rouges captured their first title since 2003 with a thrilling five set championship victory and seek to defend their MCAC championship. The other three MCAC women's volleyball teams will challenge for the conference title on the court in the 2022-23 season.

Assiniboine Community College (ACC) Cougars

Head coach: Kevin Neufeld, 2nd year - 1st season was 1982-83

Keys for the team:

Key Additions: Elle Snyder (Outside Hitter), Jayde Hansen-Young (Outside Hitter)

Key Returnee: Dakota Burton (Libero), Jenaya Shotbolt (Middle), Gina Musgrave (Middle)

Number of total team members to start the season: 13

Record and MCAC championship history:

2021-22 MCAC regular season record and placing: 0-16; 4th place in regular season; MCAC Semi Finalists (3-0 lost over USB in semis)

Last MCAC championship: none

Total MCAC championships (since 2000-01): 0

Season Preview with head coach comments:

How was the off-season for your team "Rebuilding."
What games does the coach look forward to most "Opening night is always a great event!"
What games does the coach feel will be a challenge and/or circled on the calendar "All matches will be a challenge and an opportunity to compete."
What does the coach expect from the League this year (i.e. competition, teams to watch for, etc.) "I expect the league to be strong again. The level of play goes up each year."
What are the challenges they expect with the season "Our goal is to be competitive every night. We will play hard every match."
What are the team goals, expectations for the upcoming season /looking forward to "Our goal is to be a tough defensive and serving team that can compete for a championship."
Please name a key performer for this upcoming year and why Jayde Hansen-Young – "She is a very strong back row player and her attacking has made great strides."
Who is your team captains this year We do not have captains but Jayde Hansen-Young will take the coin toss.
A comment/quote from team captain "We've had a super productive season so far!! We are gelling together on and off the court very well as a team and our skills are improving so much! We've played lots of preseason games and seen a lot of different teams so we have learned how to tackle different playing styles and adjust our style of play to compete! We are all very eager excited to start league play!" – Jayde Hansen-Young
A comment/quote from the head coach "We are excited to compete every night and battle for each and every point."

Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Blazers

Head coach: Jayme Menzies, 5th year

Keys for the team:

Key Returnee: Our captains, Lauren Ens and Brooklyn DeJong are returning starters with veteran experience and extensive leadership qualities

Key Losses: Three key ingredients:

- Renee Desroches, starting setter for five seasons, captain

- Chloe Friesen, starting middle, captain

- Lydawn McGarry, starting left side and serve receive leader

Number of total team members to start the season: 13 players on roster, 2 redshirts

Record and MCAC championship history:

2021-22 MCAC regular season record and placing: 9-7; T-2nd place in regular season; MCAC Finalists (3-0 win over PUC in semis; 3-2 loss to USB in Championship Final)

Last MCAC championship: 2019-20

Total MCAC championships (since 2000-01): 4 (2008-09, 2009-10, 2016-17, 2019-20)

Season Preview with head coach comments:

How was the off-season for your team "Very productive – We had team workouts twice a week for a few months and had short court sessions a few times a month as well. The athletes are returning in strong condition."
What games does the coach look forward to most "I anticipate that every team in our conference will be equally competitive this season so every match will be hard fought and exciting. That said, I am most looking forward to playing ACC under the new coaching guidance of Kevin Neufeld. The athletes are also really looking forward to travelling to two out of town tournaments in B.C. and Ontario, the first time we're travelling as a team since January of 2020. We were also very fortunate to be invited to participate in the UofW pre-season tournament, which allowed us to start our season by playing against some high level competition. Our team responded very well to the challenge and improved with each match."
What are the challenges they expect with the season "We have a young team of mostly first and second years. With that comes a lot of energy and competitive training and a sharp learning curve, but I also anticipate potentially having to devote more time to the mental, emotional, confidence, and leadership sides of the game."
What are the team goals, expectations for the upcoming season /looking forward to "We have a lot of athletes who are capable of playing 2-3 positions so it will be a lot of fun to see all of the possible combinations of athletes on the court and how they play together. A starting line-up is a complete mystery at this point and is likely to remain that way all season. Our team is always working towards volleyball proficiency while also learning about our position in our community, giving back, and endeavouring to use our privilege and platform appropriately. Our "results goal" is, of course, to win Provincials and experience Nationals."
Please name a key performer for this upcoming year and why "Other than our captains…- Rachel Bartel is a returning 2nd year who started last year and was our most reliable back row defensive player, in addition to being a key part of our serve receive. - Paige Wright, 2nd year setter who set behind our 5th year captain last year and has been working very hard to step in to that key position - Sahra Mackenzie took on small but significant roles on the court already in her 1st year last year and will certainly be a player that the team relies on this year in a variety of ways."

Who is your team captains this year Lauren Ens (Libero) and Brooklyn DeJong (Middle)
A comment/quote from the head coach "This team has incredible work ethic and drive, while also balancing that with the capacity to support each other and be gentle with themselves. I am thrilled to see what sort of brilliance – on and off the court – can come from that combination."

Providence University College (PUC) Pilots

Head coach: Kyle Guenther, 7th year

Keys for the team:

Number of total team members to start the season: 13

Record and MCAC championship history:

2021-22 MCAC regular season record and placing: 9-7; T-2nd place in regular season; MCAC Semi Finalists (3-0 lost over CMU in semis)

Last MCAC championship: 2017-18

Total MCAC championships (since 2000-01): 6 (2005-06, 2010-11, 2011-12, 2012-13, 2015-16, 2017-18)

Season Preview with head coach comments:

How was the off-season for your team "We had a productive off-season. Our off-season workout program has led us to have great training sessions in the early going of preseason."
What games does the coach look forward to most "I am really looking forward to playing at home this season. Our home opener on November 4 will be exciting. We had a great start to our partnership with the Niverville CRRC last season and will be even better with no restrictions for our fans this year."
What games does the coach feel will be a challenge and/or circled on the calendar "Honestly, every game in our MCAC schedule will be a challenge this year."
What does the coach expect from the League this year (i.e. competition, teams to watch for, etc.) "I expect the entire league to be competitive. It really seems like anyone could win on any given night. It will be exciting to see how it all plays out."
What are the challenges they expect with the season "We come in to the season with a few athletes getting over injuries or coming back from surgery. It will be a challenge once again to maintain health through the entire season."
What are the team goals, expectations for the upcoming season /looking forward to "Our goal is to be competitive every time we are on the court. The goal from there is to win the MCAC Championship and make our first CCAA National Championship."
Who is your team captains this year "Taylor Hiebert and Alex Buhler are our captains."

A comment/quote from the head coach "I am really looking forward to this season. We have amazing character on our team and have seen chemistry from day one. This is a special group and it will be fun to see what they can accomplish this season."

Université de Saint-Boniface (USB) Les Rouges

Head coach: Evan Turenne, 5th year

Keys for the team:

Key Additions: Janique Larivière (Setter) and Morgan Boyko (Middle)

Key Returnee: Sam Lemoine (Setter), Bendu Dukuly (Middle), Jenna Campbell (Libero), Jacklyn Carson (Right Side), Valeria Gonzalez (Left Side), Sophie Morrice (Left Side)

Key Losses: Brielle Grenier (Middle)

Number of total team members to start the season: 15

Record and MCAC championship history:

2021-22 MCAC regular season record and placing: 14-2; 1st place in regular season; MCAC Champions (3-0 win over ACC in semis; 3-2 win over CMU in Championship Final)

Last MCAC championship: 2021-22)

Total MCAC championships (since 2000-01): 4 (2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03, 2021-22)

Season Preview with head coach comments:

How was the off-season for your team "During the off-season we focused on conditioning as we found it to be one of our areas of growth."
What games does the coach look forward to most "The season opener is always a fun game and I like seeing every team for the first time."
What games does the coach feel will be a challenge and/or circled on the calendar "Every team is competitive and we are continuously gearing up for playoff games."
What does the coach expect from the League this year (i.e. competition, teams to watch for, etc.) "I expect a lot of hard battles with all teams. Every other team is young and it will be exciting to see their level of play."
What are the challenges they expect with the season "The challenge is to be consistent in every set and match. We have a few injuries to start the season so various athletes will need to step up."
What are the team goals, expectations for the upcoming season /looking forward to "The team goal is to defend our Championship."
Please name a key performer for this upcoming year and why "Sam Lemoine, Bendu Dukuly and Jenna Campbell are all in their final year so they have some extra motivation."
Who is your team captains this year Sam Lemoine (Setter)
A comment/quote from the head coach "The MCAC continues to get stronger and deeper as a league. I love that there are no easy games and I'm looking forward to having to compete for every point and every match."