After swinging and missing for the first half of their 2011-12 season, the Capilano Blues men's volleyball team finally made solid contact this month to crank out a threematch win streak that they hope will lead to a smashing finish to their season.
The Blues went 2-10 to open the season, dropping to the bottom of the Pacwest standings in what was shaping up to be their fourth straight season missing the provincial playoffs.
But the winning began Jan. 13-14 when Capilano hosted Camosun College and swept them in two straight matches, flipping the results from the first series the teams played back in October, a 2-0 sweep for the Chargers.
The following week Capilano continued the winning streak against Cranbrook's College of the Rockies Avalanche, getting timely hitting and suffocating blocking in an impressive 2513, 20-25, 25-23, 25-21 win Jan. 19.
So how does a team shake off a 2-10 record to go one a three-game roll to put themselves back into the Pacwest playoff picture? Interim head coach Paul Tudor said the Blues had no choice but to start thinking about every match as a must-win.
"It's playoffs," he said. "It's all business. There's not time for excuses, for halfhearted efforts. This is the time for focus. Really, we're just asking guys to be focused for five weeks. Five weeks, then they're free to do whatever they want."
Third-year power hitter Dan Caverly led the way in Thursday's win, coming up with big kills in the game's tightest moments.
"He's a guy you want on your team," said Tudor. "He doesn't make errors. He's like a stone wall - he just keeps going and going and going and nothing breaks him. He's incredibly valuable."
Middle blockers Joe Turpin and Spencer Kyte did pretty good wall impressions too, frustrating COTR's hitters with momentum-crushing blocks. Lead-blocker Turpin has made huge steps in his second year with the Blues, said Tudor.
"Joe Turpin came to us last year and we weren't really sure what we were going to get out of him. He was six-eight, he was pretty unco-ordinated and it was, like, his second year playing volleyball. The guy is a starter now and it's no charity case - he's legit and he earned that spot."
Setter Benjamin Ricketts kept the offence running smoothly while team captain Matias Brizuela also chipped in with several crushing hits. Brizuela is also a member of the national team for Paraguay - he plays libero (defensive specialist) for Paraguay but lines up as an outside hitter for the Blues. As a well-travelled 26year-old, Brizuela is an excellent resource for the team's younger players, said Tudor.
"His experience level and age really benefit this team. The younger guys can learn from what it's like to really focus when you're older. When you're younger there are so many distractions, being 18 and new to college you've got a whole new social circle and you can get lost. You can look at that older guy who has already been there and realize what it takes to focus."
Brizuela was pumped up about the team's mini win streak.
"I'm really happy, the guys are really excited," he said. "There's a new state of mind that everybody has. I think that they went home, Christmas with the family and they start thinking about what they needed to do, their jobs on the court. Everybody is doing their job. . . . All I want is for them to start believing that we can achieve a lot of things and to visualize winning. Now they understand what comes with winning. They've been working really hard and I think they're going to bring more to every practice. I'm really, really excited to continue on this road."
Both Tudor and Brizuela, however, were quick to point out that there is a lot more work to be done.
"It's nice to get the wins and you celebrate the moment but you can only celebrate for so long because we've got to play tomorrow," said Tudor.
His point was underscored Friday night when the Blues lost 3-0 to that same COTR team.
Capilano now sits at 5-11 on the season, tied with COTR for the sixth and final playoff spot but having played two fewer games than the Avalanche.
It's been tough going for the volleyball Blues men ever since head coach James Sneddon left after the 2007-08 season. They've started each year since then with a new head coach - including 2008-09 when Tudor, previously an assistant coach, began his first stint as interim head coach - and have failed to make the playoffs since 2008. Head coaches Marcelo Paz and Scott Weninger each didn't last more than a year over the next two seasons, leading to Tudor's second stint as interim coach.
Tudor said the permanent position will be posted after this season and he's interested in applying for it and hopefully shortening his job title by one word.
"It'd be nice to drop that interim tag," he said. "I've had it twice."
First, however, he's got another prize in mind. "My goal is to secure a playoff spot and then go from there," he said. "I would like to flip that first-half record around."
The Blues will be back at it this weekend when they host the University of the Fraser Valley this Friday and Saturday, Jan. 2728. Women's games will lead off each night starting at 6 p.m. with the men following at 7: 45 p.m.
