Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Continuity is one of the biggest feeders into building a lasting, stable and winning culture.
To that end, the Griffins men's volleyball team will feature 13 returning players (and six of seven starters) as they head into their 2022-23 Canada West home-opening weekend vs. Winnipeg on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, both Canada West TV).
"Last year was tough because we had all new guys, but this year we have six out of seven starters returning," said team captain Jefferson Morrow. "It's a pretty solid group. It just helps. You can create a culture when you have a lot of returning players. When a lot of people go out the door, it's hard to create a culture.
"This year, we want to try and push for playoffs because we know we have that returning core. We just want to keep driving and pushing forward as a unit. That would be the goal."
And Morrow is just the right guy to lead them. He finished second on the Griffins in kills (153) last season, while also leading them in digs (103).
M��| PREVIEW
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) October 20, 2022
Third-year outside hitter Jefferson Morrow set to captain @MacEwanU men's volleyball into its @CanadaWest @USPORTS_VBall home-opening weekend vs. @Wesmenathletics FRI (7:30 PM) & SAT (4 PM).#GriffNation
STORY➡️https://t.co/R4prATuA5x pic.twitter.com/tL5bny3tPC
"It's huge," he said of being named captain. "It's something I've wanted ever since I came into the program. Everything I've always done has been around leadership – anything I can do to help. It's a real honour to be in U SPORTS and to be captain of the team is a big deal. It's something I try to be better at every day."
Head coach Brad Poplawski noted that Morrow's leadership is consistent and goes into all team activities on and off the court.
"I think a big part of being a leader is getting others to follow and buy in and that can be the tough part," said Poplawski. "To be a good leader, you have to build those personal relationships. Being a leader, there are times you have to hold guys accountable, and it starts with holding yourself accountable. That means doing things right on and off the court and I think Jefferson does a really good job of that. He cares about his teammates, he gets to know them, so when he does give feedback, they know it's coming from a good place, and he just wants what's best for them."
That sets the tone for culture building and establishing an identity that's unique to the Griffins.
"It's the underdog mentality," said Morrow, who hails from Wynnum, Australia. "We want to create our own culture. We don't want to play like a Trinity (Western) or a U of A – some of the best teams in the country. We want to play our own style of volleyball. That's what will give us success.
"Also, team cohesion is huge. The more you play like a team – 19 guys versus seven on the other side – can win you a game. If it's just seven versus seven, it's tough. But when the bench is involved and the whole squad's involved, it's a big difference."
Jefferson Morrow led the Griffins in digs last season with 103 and brings a strong two-way game to the court (Robert Antoniuk photo).
MacEwan has yet to make the men's volleyball playoffs since joining Canada West in 2014 and they certainly want to build towards that goal, but Poplawski notes it will be a process of many things building in lockstep with one another to realize success.
"Obviously, everyone's going to look at results – that's the black and white part of it, the wins and losses," he noted. "But that's a by-product of those other pieces we talked about. I want to see a team that loves to compete and be in tight matches. To do that, there's a lot of things we have to do well.
"We want to accomplish certain things here, but wanting them isn't going to make them happen," he added. "We have to do all the right things leading up to that. I think in preseason, we kind of checked the boxes we need to check. I saw guys working hard, I saw guys improve, I saw guys willing to learn and be coachable.
"Now, it's kind of like you're studying for a test and the test is Friday-Saturday games. Hopefully our process has been good enough to get the outcomes we want."
