Come cheer on the Blues in their season opener
Kirsten Wiltshire (She/Her) // Staff Writer
Geraldine Yaris (She/Her) // Illustrator
Friday, October 27, the Blues men’s volleyball team will face off against Columbia Bible College in their season home opener. The game starts at 8 p.m. at the Centre for Sports and Wellness. Head coach Darrin Moreira returns with a season of coaching the Blues under his belt. He’s joined by assistant coaches Nadine Plett, Brian Hiebert, and Markiel Simpson.
The Blues play in the PACWEST BC division which includes Camosun College, Vancouver Island University, Douglas College, Columbia Bible College, and College of the Rockies. CapU will play 20 regular season games in the league.
The team is coming off of a challenging last season where they were beaten out by the Camosun Chargers, who went on to win the national championships. Last year’s team consisted of 17 players, 12 of which were rookies.
Cole Appleton, a libero returning for his second season, shared that “last year’s season was full of large learning moments…We had some amazing leaders that helped us along the way.” This season’s team is full of promising players determined to use their experience of last year to come back even stronger. “This team demands as much from the body as it does from the mind,” he added.
Last year’s team MVP, Stephen Searcy, an outside hitter, has moved on to the UBC Okanagan Heat, making room for a new player to step into his role. Owen Genge, a libero whose first season with the team resulted in a spot on the PACWEST All-Rookie team is returning for another season with the Blues. Setter Jonah Violini returns for a second season as do middle blockers Tate Wheatley, Jacob Leinemann, and Simon Russo. Isaiah Ohori is the team’s lone returning outside hitter. With a combination of returning players and new faces, Appleton is feeling optimistic. “We have lots of potential and an amazing group of guys,” he says.
Several players are making their debut on the team. Dario Pereira, hailing from Brazil, returns to the PACWEST league after a season with Vancouver Island University in 2019-2020, this time, he’s joining the Blues. Surely there will be some added stakes when it comes to playing VIU this season. Joining the team from his home country of Germany, Marco Kost has transferred to CapU from an NCAA program in Missouri. Lynden Infanti, Trevor Matthysen, Reese Nowotny, Nate Raabe, Yash Sohi, Oliver Westhaver, and Brendan Zebrynski all join the Blues for their rookie season.
The PACWEST BC championships will take place the weekend of February 23-24, 2024 hosted by Douglas College. The Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) National Championships will be hosted by Camosun College in Victoria, BC. The tournament will take place March 7-10, 2024. You can find the schedule for the men’s volleyball team on the Blue’s website. This season is sure to be exciting, so come support your fellow students by cheering them on!