‘Beast mode’ Bushidi bounces balls for Vikings

Berthold Bushidi had his principal in utter disbelief on Friday afternoon.

That’s seldom a good thing, but this time, it definitely was.

The six-foot-three middle blocker leapt high and absolutely planted a ball on the attack line early in the Viking Classic junior varsity boys’ volleyball tournament right in front of Kurt Hunter. The principal turned around and walked into the gym office to ask his staff if they had seen it too.

“I haven’t seen an attack like that in quite some time,” Hunter said.

And you wouldn’t necessarily expect it from the sophomore if you only knew him off the court.

“He’s a quiet person, a respectful person, and when he goes on the court, he goes into beast mode,” said Vikings head coach Blake Majcher, noting one of the first things Bushidi told him stood out.

“He didn’t understand why kids didn’t like Phys. Ed. class because it gives people a chance to be active and a chance to compete. The way he said, ‘Compete,’ is shown by the way he plays on the court.”

Bushidi and the Vikings got off to a hot start on Friday, sweeping the Neelin Spartans 25-19, 25-20, then beating the John Taylor Pipers 25-22, 25-19.

Massey smacked Fort Richmond 25-15, 25-9 and swept Crocus Plains in the evening game. While Majcher mixed up his lineup, Bushidi piled up 20 kills and 14 blocks on the day.

Pool play continues today, with the playoffs starting at 1 p.m., and the final taking place at 4 o’clock.

This season has come with a big learning curve for Bushidi, who’s in just his third year of volleyball. He played on Massey’s freshman team last year, which meant a less rigorous schedule.

While he was more of a basketball player when he came to high school, he’s having a blast.

“I love the group actually, they’re so fun,” Bushidi said, adding the game is quickly growing on him.

“The strategy of it, you have to do lots of planning. There’s lots of co-ordination. Everyone works together as a unit, and when one person’s doing well, the whole team does well.”

He said the hardest part of the game, especially as a middle blocker, is predicting where an opposing setter is delivering the ball.

On offence, though, it seems opponents struggle to stop Bushidi even if they know he’s hitting. He said his setters, Vaughn McLeod and Arav Patel, are the keys to his success.

“We communicate. After every set, we make sure we know what set we’re going to do,” Bushidi said. “They also read the play very well. If I’m too far behind them, they’ll do a 61 (quick set behind them).”

It makes sense this team has a high volleyball IQ already, considering they’ve spent the past seven weeks with Majcher. The former college and U Sports player — he played for Medicine Hat College and Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C. — has a wealth of experience to share.

Bushidi certainly realizes the opportunity he’s had to develop.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Bushidi said. “The main thing is there’s a time to work and a time to play. You can also have fun while still taking something seriously.

“And power isn’t everything. I used to rely on strength, but now I’m incorporating more technique.”

The Vikings got their first look at some of the top AAAA competition in Manitoba last weekend in Winnipeg. They lost to the No. 4-, 5- and 6-ranked teams in pool play at the Mennonite Brethren tournament but scored 20 or more points in at least one of the sets in each match.

“It’s been a good start to the year,” Majcher said. “We saw that we are in the running but also have a lot of work to do. Our team has a pretty high floor but is also missing some skills to be competitive at the highest level.”

Massey has already clinched first place and a bye to the Brandon High School Volleyball League final, sitting 3-0 ahead of Wednesday’s regular-season finale at Crocus.

The Plainsmen and Spartans will play for a spot in the best-of-three series, and as long as the Vikings finish ahead of the Plainsmen, they’ll have a shot at provincials.

Bushidi is excited to see what this group can do.

“We work really well together, and we all have our strengths and weaknesses,” Bushidi said. “But we also recover really quickly from any sort of struggles.”

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