With another school year winding down, it’s time to crown the nation’s best in university sport.  Feb. 26–28 in Saskatoon will feature eight of the top men’s volleyball teams in Canada as they all vie for the right to be crowned the best team in the CIS.

Each conference champion as well as the runners-up from the Canada West and Ontario University Athletics conference receive an invitation. The hosts automatically qualify and the final spot is a wildcard berth.

This year the OUA features three teams: the McMaster University Marauders (champions, 19–1), the University of Waterloo Warriors (silver medalists, 13–7) and the York University Lions (bronze medalists, 13–7). The CanWest also features three teams: the University of Alberta Golden Bears (champions, 21–3), the Trinity Western University Spartans (silver medalists, 20–4) and the University of Saskatchewan Huskies (hosts, 12–12). The Dalhousie University Tigers (16–1) won the Atlantic University Sports conference and the Université Laval Rouge et Or (12–5) won the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec.

McMaster Marauders

The Marauders made it a three-peat at OUA championships, as they knocked off Waterloo in straight sets. The team has won 25 straight matches overall and is definitely a favourite to win it all.

McMaster’s offence is unbelievably well-balanced which makes them incredibly difficult to stop. Five different players are averaging at least two kills per set with Brandon Koppers leading the way at 3.07 per set. OUA MVP Danny Demyanenko wasn’t far behind with 2.9 per set and he boasts an astounding 0.567 hitting percentage, which led in the CIS.

Their strong attack translates to good defence as they have kept their opponents in check all season and held them to just a 0.165 hitting percentage. Their blocks per set, 2.94, was second in the conference as well.

Head coach Dave Preston is excited for the trip to Saskatoon with his team.

“We are very happy to be in Saskatoon, where there is a rich volleyball history and tradition. This event is shaping up to be a great experience for our student athletes. I believe we are playing well and if we can remain consistent, good things should happen.”

Dalhousie Tigers

In the small Atlantic conference, Dalhousie was the class of the league and easily claimed the AUS title with a two game sweep of the University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds in the final. The second seed they earned for the tournament is the highest in program history and their best ever finish was a silver medal in 1997.

Bryan Duquette, who was first in the conference in kills with an average of 3.38 per set, leads the Tigers this year. His teammate Kristen O’Brien was second with 3.01 per set. Duquette is a force on both the attack and on defence as he was second in AUS with 142 digs. This will be the Tigers’ 34th trip to nationals in the past 36 years.

Although 16-year head coach Dan Ota is looking forward to the tournament, he still has high hopes for his team.

“Our team has had high expectations all season and this week will be no different,” he said. “We’ve done a great job of meeting our performance expectations on a consistent basis, but acknowledge that we face our biggest obstacle yet at the national championship. We look forward to competing against some excellent teams with similar expectations as ourselves.”

Alberta Golden Bears

Entering the 2014–15 season as the defending champs, the Golden Bears were on a mission from the get-go as they opened up the season on a 15-game winning streak. They entered the CanWest playoffs as the number one seed and beat UBC and Trinity Western en route to their second straight conference title.

Ryley Barnes and Ryan Nickifor pace the Alberta offence as both are averaging well over 10 kills per match. Setter Brett Walsh is the centerpiece of the Golden Bears attack as he led CanWest in assists and he averages 11 per set, which ranked first in the entire CIS. The Golden Bears use a powerful offence to help set up their defence, as they hit at 0.301 per cent and hold opponents to just 0.191 per cent.

Despite coming in as the defending champs, head coach Terry Danyluk is grateful for the opportunity to be on the national stage.

“It’s an honour to be going back to the CIS championship. Our conference this year was very close and we are fortunate to represent it.”

Laval Rouge et Or

On paper, Laval doesn’t seem to have the firepower from two years ago when the powerhouse put an end to an 18-year CanWest domination with a triumph on home court in Quebec City.

However, the Rouge et Or feature one of the most exciting young players in the country with outside hitter Vicente Ignacio Parraguirre Villalobos. He is a member of the Chilean senior national team who was named RSEQ MVP in his university debut after he finished second in the CIS with 4.35 kills per set.

Pascal Clement, the 23-year head coach of the program, hopes his squad will be ready to go, even after a rollercoaster season that saw them start 1–2, before rattling off 10 straight wins.

“We’ve fought from start to finish this year to win our conference. There were many ups and downs, but over the final stretch, everything fell into place and the whole team started to believe. I would think the guys will still be hungry in Saskatoon.”

Trinity Western Spartans

Trinity Western enters as the highest seeded team to not win a conference championship. After they finished just one game behind Alberta in the regular season, they lost to the Golden Bears in a tight CanWest title game, but still earned a berth at nationals.

The Spartans feature the best server in the country as Nicholas Del Bianco averages 0.57 aces per set, tops in the CIS. The senior — who claimed this year’s CanWest MVP trophy — also heavily contributes on the offence as he accounted for 290 kills and his 3.92 kills per set was third in the conference.

He is surrounded by outside hitter Ryan Sclater who tallied 307 kills and Blake Scheerhoorn who had 222. Also, Tyler Koslowsky is a big part of the team as he led the CanWest in digs, with 245.

Head coach Ben Josephson is excited for his team to compete at the national level.

“I’m very excited for this year’s edition of Spartan volleyball [who] to get to experience what this tournament is all about. This championship is far and away my favourite volleyball and I can’t wait to get to Saskatoon.”

Waterloo Warriors

If there was one team of destiny in this tournament, Waterloo might be it. Entering the OUA post-season as the third seed, they won a thrilling quarter-final match in five sets before taking down York in the semifinals. The Warriors were in the top 10 rankings just once this season, in 10th position in the second last poll of the year.

Zachary Doherty leads their attack as he had 3.16 kills per set, which was seventh in the OUA. Also contributing to the success was Jordan Dyck as he has 2.41 kills per set, 1.24 blocks per set and was named a conference first team all-star.

Chris Lawson, who is in his eighth year as head coach, is proud of his team’s effort all season long.

“We have a good mix of seniors and sophomores that never give up on any set or point. They are a very talented group of guys and it has all come together down the stretch for us.”

York Lions

It’s been 10 years since York was last at the CIS volleyball championships and after winning a bronze medal in the OUA conference tournament, here they are.

Rookie of the year Josh Henderson has a been a big contributor this year. Him and his teammate Ray Szeto have been the duo that York has looked to to lead them. Szeto is fourth in the conference with 3.66 kills per set while Henderson isn’t far behind in sixth with 3.23.

Senior Nikola Sandic has been a huge aid to the attack as he has tallied 743 assists this season, which is second in the OUA. The Lions aren’t quite as strong on defence with no players in the top 10 in either digs or blocks.

First year head coach Mike Chumbley is expecting a fantastic tournament.

“The competition level is going to be really high. This tournament is loaded and I think all eight teams could win a medal. The matchups are unique and each team provides a completely different challenge as an opponent.”

Saskatchewan Huskies

The Huskies had a disappointing end to their regular season as they couldn’t find a way to get into the Canada West playoffs, but qualified as hosts of the tournament. Led by the fifth-year duo of high-flying Paul Thomson and 6’7” Matt Busse, the Huskies will have the home court advantage and could surprise the top seeded Marauders in the first round.

Powerful outside hitter Jordan Nowakowski will also be a big factor as he was second on the team in kills and led in digs. The Dogs are at their best when the two-headed monster of Thomson and Nowakowski is hammering kills and their play usually dictates the success of the offence.

Although the season hasn’t gone exactly according to plan, head coach Brian Gavlas isn’t focused on the past and is sure his team will be ready come Feb. 26.

“Although our regular season didn’t end quite the way we wanted, we firmly believe we can compete and succeed against the best. We are looking forward to competing for a national championship in front of supportive family, alumni, friends and fans.”

Saskatchewan’s first match will go at 8 p.m. on Feb. 26 against the McMaster Marauders and a win puts them through to the semifinal. A loss however and their chance at being crowned national champions is over. Come out and support your Huskies at the PAC!