Bobcat seniors embrace home stretch, playoff push

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 07/02/2025 (302 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Filipino, a German and an Albertan walk into a gym.

There is no punchline.

They persevere through a pandemic and five bitter Brandon winters as they become part of the Brandon University Bobcat family.

Now, just as quickly as their bonds formed, a chapter closes on their final weekend of Canada West regular season volleyball at the Healthy Living Centre.

The Bobcats (7-9) are set to battle the Winnipeg Wesmen (14-2) today at 6 p.m., and Saturday at 5 p.m., then recognize Michael Flor, Philipp Lauter and Riley Grusing for Senior Night.

“It feels really fast and really slow at the same time because there’s so much stuff that happened in that time,” said Lauter, who arrived during the cancelled 2020-21 season to study music, unsure if he’d stick around anywhere from one to five years.

“There was good volleyball, university, good people, all the things I was hoping to get, I got, so there was no reason to not come back.

“I have a great team, I can play volleyball at a high level, the music school is fantastic, I have great friends here. It’s the chance to have all those great things combined in one.”

Lauter was a home run for coach Grant Wilson, a Day 1 starter and a rare middle blocker who became the focal point of a Canada West offence.

The Wiesbaden, Germany product was named U Sports rookie of the year in 2022 and is the guy setter JJ Love depends on in the biggest moments.

“His impact will be long lasting with this group for sure … He really came with what I would call a professional mindset,” Wilson said.

“That has helped us as a group, it’s helped him continue his growth and it’s been pretty cool to see.”

While he’s been a typical three-rotation middle this year, Wilson has moved the six-foot-seven attacker around throughout his career, finding ways to maximize his court time as a back-row right side. He is far from the prototypical middle blocker who blocks, attacks and not much more.

“That’s something we always trained here,” Wilson said. “We tell our guys we want them to be volleyball players, not just a setter, not just a middle, we want them to do everything. He’s one of those guys that could do it and do it at a high level … it’s been really good for everybody to see that transformation.”

Flor arrived in 2019 as a transfer from Jose Rizal University in the Philippines, generously listed at five-foot-seven with an ear-to-ear grin and a tenacity to make improbable digs.

He’s watched every one of his teammates walk into the gym as a rookie and this season was tasked with helping them find their way as part of the team’s leadership group.

Those Bobcats who only saw his early days might be surprised.

“It’s funny. When I joined the team I was pretty quiet, all they’d say is I just smiled,” Flor chuckled. “Now I’m a leader of the team, trying to lead the team to make each other accountable.

“The team culture helped me to where I am right now and who I am as Mikey right now.”

Flor didn’t play much early on, finally carving out a role as Brandon’s defensive libero during the 2023-24 season. He made 62 digs that year and has 64 through 16 matches this season.

It’s one of the least glamorous positions in sports, with the primary job being standing in front of balls blasted 100 kilometres per hour from six metres away — if that.

“He does things for the right reason. That’s why he’s one of the key guys in our leadership group. He knows what’s important and what to focus on. His character has been a pretty significant thing for our group,” Wilson said.

“He’s one of those guys that’s going to stand in there regardless of who’s hitting on the other side and basically dare them to hit it at him.

“He’s a guy willing to sacrifice it all on every play and you can’t ask much more from a guy.”

Grusing transferred from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in 2020, after three seasons of college ball, with the expectation of hosting nationals his first year in town.

When the six-foot-six right side found out BU received the 2025 edition after 2021 was cancelled, he opted to redshirt not one but two seasons in order to be around for this one.

“It speaks volumes of his character,” Wilson said. “He’s a guy that’s hard-working and he’s always tried to find ways to make himself better, dedicated himself to the whole process.”

Knowing he’s exactly six weeks away from that national quarterfinal in front of a sold-out crowd makes those two years on the sideline feel worth it.

“I feel like I’ve grown a lot as a person, as a player from those two years … I’m happy with how things worked out,” he said.

“We’re privileged to have the opportunity. Normally at this point of the year, we’d be hoping to host a playoff game and hoping Senior Night isn’t the last time we’re playing here.”

While it for sure isn’t the last home action for this group, they’re still playing for the right to host Canada West post-season action due to the new 10-team format.

Seventh and eighth host 10th and ninth, respectively, in a best-of-three play-in round. Then the top four seeds host best-of-three quarterfinal series before a final-four weekend at the highest remaining seed.

Brandon can pull ahead of seventh-place Calgary and Manitoba, who are tied at 7-11, though it likely needs to win three of its remaining four matches since both play the 1-15 MacEwan Griffins to round out their seasons.

So for now, this weekend is about beating the country’s No. 2-ranked Wesmen, not making too big of a deal out of the festivities to follow.

“It’s always kind of sad. This place has meant a lot. At the end of the day, you can’t focus too much on that,” Grusing said.

“It’s just another game, another game we’ve gotta win before the most important ones at the end of the season.”

QUICK HITS: The BU basketball teams visit the Winnipeg Wesmen today and Saturday before returning for the regular-season finale weekend against the Saskatchewan Huskies. The women (2-14) cannot make the playoffs, while the men (4-12) trail the Regina Cougars (6-10) by two games but hold the tiebreaker for the last playoff spot.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Instagram: @thomasfriesen5