Jefferson Hagen / MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – The Mohler family is just a setting factory.
Oldest brother Matthew Mohler was the trailblazer, graduating last season after a prolific five-year career with the MacEwan Griffins, leaving with the school record for career Canada West assists.
Youngest brother Scott Mohler is in his Grade 12 year at Strathcona high school, setting for the Lords.
And the middle brother? That would be Jonathan Mohler, who is currently writing his own story as a setter with the Griffins.
"I don't know where it stems from," said Jonathan Mohler about the successive family line of setters. "Maybe my brother paved the road and we all kind of followed.
"We've all kind of followed in each other's boots, which is cool."
Although Mohler is entering his third season with the Griffins, he's only in his second year of eligibility. As is an issue for a lot of volleyball players, he had some knee problems in 2015 that led to a lost season.
"Jon's had to battle some pretty good adversity with us," said MacEwan head coach Brad Poplawski. "He was a starting setter with Team Alberta in his Grade 12 year, had a summer with them where he started to experience some knee problems and came in his first year and basically one week into training, his knees were so bad. That whole year he couldn't really do anything other than rehab or watch."
Partially due to uncertainty surrounding Mohler's knees, Poplawski brought in setter Josh Peters to pair with Matt Mohler last season.
"(Jon) ended up being our third setter, which is a tough position," Poplawski said. "You don't get a lot of reps. You don't get as much training. And we still weren't sure about his knees. We even had the conversation if they weren't getting better maybe he was done with volleyball or maybe we (would try) to turn him into a libero.
"But again, he was one of those guys who was in the gym five days a week this summer. He came in great shape. Right now, he's locating the ball pretty well, his knees have been OK. Obviously, it's something we need to be aware of," he added. "On a personal level, I respect how hard he's worked even to be able to practice and play at the Canada West level."
A summer after hitting the gym regularly with workout partners and teammates Jacob McIntyre and Jordan Peters, Jonathan Mohler has earned at least a split of the first-team reps with rookie setter Caleb Weiss. They'll lead the Griffins (1-9) into a home series against Trinity Western (9-1) on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (6:30 p.m., both games Atkinson Gym).
Mohler and Weiss have about as even a split as you can get – the former has 169 assists, while the latter has 168.
"I actually really enjoy the way they're both handling it," said Poplawski. "They compete hard in practice against one another, but when the game starts, whichever one's in they're supporting each other. They're talking to each other in timeouts about what they're seeing. If we do sub one in for the other, they're both positive."
The battle for playing time is fluid, which makes both guys work even harder.
"Right now, Jonny's stabilized a few things for us, but Caleb's working very hard and I think it is a pretty healthy competition," said Poplawski. "I like the way they push each other, but also how they interact with each other off the court in preparation with our video. When we discuss things with them or ask them to watch more film, they come back as a pretty united front about what they're seeing.
"That's the kind of culture we want to build. You battle each other super hard in practice and training, but as soon as it's game time: 'I'm 100 per cent in your corner whether I'm starting or coming off the bench.' "
Mohler has also been building relationships with the outside hitters, not an easy process for setters, who have to have eyes in the back of their heads.
"There's a little bit of chemistry from the year after recovering, but in preseason until now, I'm still developing relationships and learning where guys want the ball," he said. "It was a tough process, but I think we've got it down.
"That comes from the practice and setting those guys over and over, establishing those relationships. You just know how a guy likes a ball and where he'll be."
Precision will be important again for the Griffins, who will host a Spartans team that is just eight months removed from a national championship and are again ranked No. 1 in USPORTS.
"We go from the No. 2 team in the country to No. 1," said Poplawski, whose team is coming off a 3-1 loss at UBC last Saturday. "When we joined this league, that was what excited me. You want to play the best teams. I think that's how you measure yourself.
"You don't become the No. 1 or No. 2-ranked team in the country by accident. They have unbelievable athletes. I've coached a number of them with junior teams or provincial teams. I know the level of play that they're going to bring. They're going to stress every facet of our game. But as a competitor, you enjoy these. You have to. You want to see where you stack up against the best in the country and they're the best in the country right now."
