Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – The nuances of the middle blocker position take years to fully master, which is why the best in the world are in their late 20s, early 30s.

So, it's rare to see a middle contribute right out of the gate like Jonah Karsten did for the MacEwan Griffins in 2021-22.

The 6-foot-5 Sherwood Park product made waves by quickly establishing himself as a starter early in the season.

Then he turned even more heads when he won the team's Most Improved Player award at the end-of-year 2022 MacEwan Athletics banquet.

"Going into the year, as a first-year middle coming in, it's a super tough position to process and learn," said Griffins head coach Brad Poplawski. "He beat out a fourth and a fifth year to start. That's not something that's easy to do, but it was due to his level of play. He's a really cerebral player. Sometimes we've got to get him thinking less and just reacting. He's so analytical.

"So, last year that was kind of how he was our most improved. He earned his way into a starting role and was contributing and playing well against some pretty tough middles in that all-Alberta conference we were in."

Now in the second year of his progression as a starting Canada West middle, Karsten will lead MacEwan into weekend home action vs. Calgary on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).

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"He's got a good arm, he's fast, so setters like that," said Poplawski of Karsten. "They can find him with a good pass or off the net in not as good pass situations. 

"Then, I think with that middle position, it's a lot of read blocking, a lot of reacting to what you're seeing. So, his ability to process things and react to it quickly is quite good. That's where his strengths are."

Jonah Karsten tips one over the Winnipeg block in a match last month (Robert Antoniuk photo).

So far this season, Karsten has 10 kills, 10 blocks and four service aces as he works the middle for the Griffins with fellow second year student-athlete Carsten Bergeron and rookie Seth Birkholz. 

"I think the last couple of games, he's really improved on last year's performances," said Poplawski. "It's just making sure he's doing the things he needs to take care of and not worrying about too many other things. I think offensively we've seen an improvement from him, and his blocking is getting better to where we need it to be. 

"I've seen it a lot where a first year comes in, plays and earns a spot," he added. "That next year can be a little challenging because 'I did this in my first, my second year I should be X per cent better.' Fair, we want you to, but it will take time. You're still a young player in this league.

"But his work ethic is awesome. He's probably our most vocal player. He's always talking, always communicating – super coachable. I think he's starting to build on last year now."

Growing up in Sherwood Park, Karsten played both volleyball and basketball, but his interest in the former skyrocketed when a friend suggested he join the FOG club program. Little did he know at the time, but he would be a part of a powerhouse that would win a national championship (U17 in 2019), a national silver medal, a Westerns title and two provincial championships.

"Having that success really turned me towards volleyball," he said.

So, when he came to MacEwan, the Archbishop Jordan product was optimistic he'd quickly earn playing time.

"I was lucky in a way because my mindset going in was 'I'm going to be patient and wait for my opportunity,' " he explained. "I ended up getting in the first game and playing every game from then on. 

"I think that opportunity really helped me to improve. It put me in a position where I had to improve at a faster rate. Learning from every game was so valuable – just the mindset of getting better every practice and every game."

He and his fellow middles will have their hands full this weekend as Calgary's offence runs through 6-foot-9 middle Louis Kunstmann, who previously played professionally in Germany.

"We have to be disciplined and make it difficult for them to score," said Karsten. "We can't let them beat us with clean kills and have to take away their best shot and get touches on as much as possible. We want to be the bigger offensive threats in the middle in these games."