Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – With six incoming rookies this season, the Griffins men's volleyball team will get a welcome chance to test their early chemistry at a preseason tournament at the Saville Centre this weekend.
MacEwan will be one of 12 teams entered in the University of Alberta-hosted Sofa Land Classic, which begins Thursday and continues through Saturday.
"This will be a really good opportunity to test some things as far as lineups and see the work the guys put in over the summer," said Griffins head coach Brad Poplawski. "But, also, it will expose some weaknesses.
"With six new guys getting their first taste of university volleyball, I think it will be a cool experience for them, just getting those nerves out of the way a little bit – just that experience of stepping on the floor for the first time as a Griffin."
Three of the freshmen – Ryan Zachary, Caleb Weiss and Liam Huth – have only recently begun full training with the team. Since they were already sharp on the court with lots of reps after helping Poplawski's Team Alberta squad win a silver medal at the Canada Summer Games in August, they have been tasked more with catching up on off-court work outs.
"It's been an interesting preseason because of the number of guys we did have playing volleyball (over the summer)," said Poplawski. "The Team Alberta guys didn't actually start with us until last Monday, so they've been with us a week because of how heavy their load was.
"What they had been doing (since camp began on Aug. 28) was taking warm-up with us and then they'd go work out. So, we've only been together on the court as a full team for one full week."
Freshmen Jordan Krause, Garrett Corkery and Tyler Jodoin have been training on court with the team right from the start of camp.
Among the returning players for the Griffins are outside hitters Kai Hesthammer, Shane Kerrison, Jordan Peters and Lucas Kristan, towering middles Max Vriend and Kornel Kowalewski, and third-year utility man Matthew Linklater, who is converting from an outside hitter to libero this season.
This weekend, the Griffins will open exhibition tournament play at the Sofa Land Classic with a match against Canada West opponent Mount Royal University on Thursday, 6 p.m.
On Friday, they'll meet ACAC's Lethbridge College at 11 a.m. before facing Canada West foe Calgary at 6 p.m.
On Saturday, the Griffins will meet ACAC's Red Deer College at 1 p.m. before facing cross-town Canada West rival Alberta at 8 p.m.
