Bobcats look to turn down the Heat

Weekends like this are what Canada West men’s volleyball players mean when they say there are no easy matchups.

What was, on paper, a rare Brandon University Bobcats clash against a bottom-half team entering the season is now one against the toast of the conference.

The 3-5 Bobcats welcome the 9-1 UBC Okanagan Heat to the Healthy Living Centre today at 7:45 p.m.

UBCO went 7-17, 3-21, and 9-11 in its past three seasons, but BU players and staff have seen this coming.

“Not surprising me, maybe they’re surprising somebody, but it’s a really solid team they have there, a team they’ve been building for a while,” said head coach Grant Wilson. “You add in a great coach like Scott Koskie to bring in some more talent and tinker with what they’re doing, and I feel like they’re one of the best teams in the conference and their record definitely reflects that.”

Bobcats outside hitter Liam Pauls came into the league in 2022, around the same time as most of the Heat lineup. He played sparingly that year but jumped into a starting role the following season and has become a go-to guy in the toughest league in the country.

He knows how much time that takes, and credits the Heat starters for the work they put in to get where they are.

“It’s those same guys who didn’t play great and now they’re starting to click. They’ve developed a lot, they’ve gotten a lot better, and good for them,” Pauls said.

Both Pauls and Wilson spent the summer with UBCO setter Zach Van Geel and middle blocker Thys Westrate on Volleyball Canada’s NextGen team.

Westrate is averaging 2.32 kills per set with a near team-high hitting percentage at .361. He leads the league in blocks per set with 1.55.

Van Geel is neck and neck with BU’s Kale Fisher in assists per set, with 8.92 to Fisher’s 9.07, good for fifth and fourth, repsectively. He’s also fourth in Canada West in digs per set at 2.08.

“Thys, he’s just so athletic. He flies. He’s got a very heavy arm and he understands the game,” Wilson said.

“Zach … is a complete setter. He does everything well. He serves well, he blocks well, he defends well, and he’s a really good setter. You combine all that and it makes him pretty effective.

“They have both matured physically and mentally over the time that I’ve seen them and I feel like those two guys lead the way for them, along with Seba Manuel, who has been there quite a while. They’re solid in every position.”

Pauls added both the UBCO stars developed a ton throughout the summer, and he’s excited to try to knock them off the top of the conference standings.

Wilson said in a match against a veteran group like this, it’s up to his most experienced guys like Pauls and Tom Friesen to set the tone.

Friesen enters the weekend fourth in kills per set with 3.64, while hitting .338.

The Bobcats are trying to snap a three-match losing streak, including two Manitoba Bisons beatdowns on home court two weeks ago.

Pauls said the team has been hard at work this week, especially on its defence.

He knows Brandon can’t afford to drop too many more matches if it wants to host playoff matches and plans to set the tone for his team early tonight.

“I think lead by example’s the best way to lead. I’m not going to tell guys how to do their job … I just want to show them,” Pauls said.

“If all of our guys try and do that, everyone’s leading, everyone’s being the golden standard. If we try and do that, we’ll be really successful.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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