Rigney kicks off Bobcat recruit class
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/09/2022 (1254 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Noah Rigney knew he’d call Brandon University home before he set foot on campus.
The small-town Alberta kid doesn’t care much for big schools and massive cities, not even Edmonton’s University of Alberta, an hour-long drive from his hometown Westlock.
Rigney touched down at Brandon Municipal Airport and received one positive sign after the next.
Noah Rigney of Westlock, Alta., committed to the Brandon University Bobcats men’s volleyball team for the 2023-24 Canada West season. (Matt Packwood/BU Athletics)
“I was in the airport for 30 seconds, saw (head coach) Grant (Wilson) and we were out. I loved the airport, number one, that was the first thing,” said Rigney, the Bobcats’ first recruit for the 2023-24 Canada West men’s volleyball season.
“Number two, driving back to campus, I see farmland over here, farmland over there and I see a city over there. It was perfect for me. Right away I knew I loved the area. Meeting with the guys, they were super open and welcoming and it was a great experience.”
Rigney grew up in Clyde, Alta., a village of a few hundred people near Westlock, where he went to high school.
The six-foot-six middle blocker was primarily a basketball player until recently. He stopped playing volleyball in 2019 and then made a brief return for the 2020 Alberta Winter Games before COVID-19 hit.
Rigney came back for 2021-22 when Northern Alberta Volleyball Club needed a middle and a few guys from the Games told coach Vinny Saporito about him.
Rigney played one club volleyball season, essentially his only year taking the sport seriously, and has one national 17-and-under gold medal.
“We feel like there’s a lot of upside in Noah and we’re intrigued by that scenario,” Wilson said.
“He just has a physical presence on the court. He’s a big, strong, physical kid and just felt like he played with a fair bit of confidence and used his size to his advantage.”
The high school senior said that club season rerouted his path. He was going to walk away from volleyball but he realized the sport could take him places, like a jam-packed Edmonton EXPO Centre for a national final. They beat Winnipeg’s 204 in the semifinals and dropped Pakmen from Mississauga, Ont., in the final.
“It was wild. Thousands of people in the stands, it was crazy,” Rigney said. “It totally changed my mind.”
It didn’t take long to lock in on BU.
“I met (Wilson) right after the gold-medal game and that night I had basically done my research on Brandon and the university,” Rigney said. “I figured, ‘wow, this is completely perfect.’ I couldn’t believe it. A smaller town, more farming community, the smallest city with the best volleyball team, it made no sense to me. I couldn’t believe how perfect it was.”
Rigney then made Team Alberta and helped it win the Volleyball Canada Cup in the summer. He plans to study business with hopes of opening an auto body shop in the future. For the next few years, he has a growing group of capable middle blockers ahead of him. Philipp Lauter, the 2021-22 U Sports rookie of the year, Bryston Keck and Paycen Warkentin all saw big minutes as BU reached the Canada West final four.
A few more Albertans in Chris Bryant and Riley Brunet are waiting in the wings, along with Brandon’s Colby Carmichael.
Rigney needs to make some big strides to see a Canada West court at this point, as would anyone that’s only been playing the game for a few years. He sees himself growing a ton once he arrives.
“I’m barely tapping into my physical potential,” Rigney said.
“I’ve never had a trainer in my life. Any workouts I’ve done have been me in the gym, by myself. I got in the weight room a bit when I was in Brandon and there’s just a sky of potential.”
He’s also excited after watching what a truly fast offence looks like at Bobcats’ practice.
“The speed was incredible to me,” Rigney said. “The explanation behind it made so much sense. They’re running super fast in attacking lanes where there should be no blocker. That makes you much more open as a threat in the middle.”
The Bobcats open their home pre-season tournament against the University of Manitoba Bisons today at 12:30 p.m.
» tfriesen@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @thomasmfriesen