Bobcats’ Aussie pipeline continues with Chen

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This article was published 31/01/2023 (1208 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Each time the Brandon University Bobcats hit the U Sports men’s volleyball podium, it’s been on the back of a superstar from Down Under.

Australian Paul Sanderson powered BU to bronze in 2009 and silver in 2011, then Kiwi Roy Ching led the Bobcats to bronze in 2013 and Aussie Elliott Viles was national player of the year as Brandon finished second in 2019.

Aussie import Sam Chen is just two wins away from becoming the next one as Brandon hosts the final eight in 2025. Head coach Grant Wilson lit up at the chance to talk about his third recruit for the 2023-24 Canada West season.

“We had a few options but in my opinion, this was the absolute best one,” Wilson said of filling his second of two import spots. “It maybe goes against a little bit of the grain in terms of what we’ve brought in internationally in the past but I feel it’s the exact fit our program needs right now.”

Chen stands six-foot-three, undersized for an outside hitter at this level. But he plays bigger. Chen’s block touch is 10-foot-nine, good for a standing vertical leap of 33 inches. With an approach, he’s touching 11-foot-two.

And the best parts of his game are defence and serve receive. His self-described weakness, the thing he plans to drill hard in the next six months before moving across the globe is “Getting a consistent touch on international-speed serves.”

The 17-year-old grew up playing soccer and tried field hockey, basketball and tennis. He first picked up a volleyball at 12, following his older brother and was a natural. Chen played for club and school teams and made his state program, travelling around the country for events. He caught the Australian national team program’s attention and attended junior development camps, eventually landing at the Australian Volleyball Academy in Canberra for the past three years.

Chen graduated last year — in the top two per cent of his cohort — but is spending one more year at the Australian Institute of Sport before the move.

Since it’s summer in the Southern Hemisphere, Chen’s beach season is ramping up. The AVA plays beach from January to May, then shifts to indoor for the rest of the calendar year. That’s certainly made him a well-rounded player.

“I’m not two metres and hitting over the top of everyone but my biggest strengths are that I’m pretty athletic and I’ve got a decent jump,” Chen said.

“When it comes to it I can get some big points and score some big hits. I think I have a pretty good athletic ability which supports my ability to use the block and see the court.”

Wilson knows it’s an important recruiting year. He loses outside hitters Rylan Metcalf and Max Brook, along with backup middle blocker Bryston Keck and third-string setter Nigel Tolley.

Brandon finally gets Riley Grusing’s fourth year after the Alberta product redshirted two seasons to stay eligible for the 2025 national championship, so the left side was the natural spot to pursue.

“The outsides we currently have … Tom Friesen, Liam Kindle and Liam Pauls are all making great strides,” Wilson said.

“The one thing we wanted to be able to do was to stabilize our reception and our defence and add some physicality and we feel like Sam checks all those boxes off.”

Chen joins Northern Alberta Volleyball Club Griffins teammates Noah Rigney and Kale Fisher — who won a 17-and-under club national title last year — in the rookie class.

“It’s really a pretty big step for me,” Chen said, “moving all the way to Canada but I’m super excited to get to work with Grant and the other guys … and play in the best conference in Canada.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @thomasmfriesen