Many of the best volleyball players in the province will converge on the Capilano University Sportsplex court Thursday through Saturday for the PacWest championships hosted by the Blues.
On the men's side Capilano will be looking to defend the title they won at the 2013 championships where they went on a magical run as a No. 4 seed, knocking off No. 1 Douglas College in the semifinals before beating the secondseeded Vancouver Island University Mariners in the final. The Blues will need to take a similar path if they hope to repeat because they come into the 2014 championships seeded fourth again. The situation is similar but it's been quite a different season for the Blues, said head coach Nathan Bennett.
"Last year we snuck under the radar a little bit being the underdog," he said. "I don't think teams took us as seriously as they should have. But this year being the defending provincial champions, we got everybody's best game."
It would seem that everybody is getting everybody's best game this season - there was no juggernaut in the standings as Columbia Bible College led the way with a 16-8 record.
"The funny thing is last year we were fourth place and our record was 15-9. This year we're 12-12 and still in fourth place. It's a crazy situation," said Bennett. "Everybody is so close together.. .. Anybody can beat anybody in this tournament. It's just whoever is going to be the best on that day."
That will make for some very entertaining volleyball, Bennett predicted.
"These provincials are going to be incredible," he said. "Every match is going to be fought so closely. I could see every match going to five sets. I don't see anybody really steamrolling any team in any match. I think it's going to be one of the most exciting provincial championships on the men's side that I've ever seen."
If the Blues hope to repeat they'll likely need fifth-year left-side hitter Dan Caverly to show the same form he displayed last year when he won the MVP honours at the PacWest championships. Bennett said that he keeps plus-minus stats, similar to the hockey statistic, on all his players to measure their positive plays versus their errors and Caverly this season notched a ranking of plus-170. The next highest ranking on the team was plus-45.
"Dan is the man," said Bennett. "I really don't think he's going to hold anything in the tank being a fifth year, at home, last provincials. I think he's going to be on his A-game for sure."
The big prizes at the tournament are the two national championship berths on the line, one for each finalist. If the Blues win their Thursday night opener against fifth-ranked
College of the Rockies - a team that features Curtis Stockton, the league leader in kills and total offence - they'll face CBC in a Friday semifinal with a berth at nationals on the line. In the latest CCAA national rankings CBC is listed fifth while other Pacwest participants Camosun and Douglas are ranked eighth and ninth, respectivley. The Blues are ranked No. 12 in the country, although Bennett said none of that will matter once the first serve goes up at the PacWest championships.
"If we play the way we can play we're one of the best teams in the league for sure. Provincials are a funny animal - it's one game at a time."
On the women's side Capilano comes into the tournament as the No. 3 seed with a 15-9 record. They'll take on No. 6 Douglas in the quarterfinals Thursday at 1 p.m. A win there would put the Blues into a semifinal matchup against the second-seeded University of the Fraser Valley Cascades on Friday at 1 p.m. UFV is ranked No. 4 in Canada after posting a record of 20-4 in PacWest play.
The team to beat at provincials will be No. 1-seeded Vancouver Island University, led by North Vancouver's Leanna Gildersleeve. The Mariners went 22-2 in PacWest play and are ranked No. 2 in Canada. The Blues women are ranked No. 12 nationally.
The tournament finals are scheduled for Saturday with the women at 5:30 p.m. and the men to follow at 8 p.m. Bennett is hoping to see the stands full for Capilano's games, something that hasn't happened during his time with the Blues.
"Every game we've had this year we've only had about 20 people. I think 75 per cent of the people have been family and friends. I think this is a really good opportunity for people to see the product that's here."
For updated schedules and results visit the tournament website at pacwestbc.ca/2014volleyball.
