Wilson, Paddock to square off with hometown Bobcats

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This article was published 01/12/2023 (711 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Reece Wilson and Max Paddock left Brandon, the idea of playing for a Healthy Living Centre crowd left with them.

Wilson joined the College of the Rockies men’s volleyball team and Paddock joined the Regina Pats of the Western Hockey League, and later the Acadia Axemen in U Sports hockey.

But fate and friendship reconnected them at the University of the Fraser Valley in Abbotsford, B.C., and the Cascades are in town to play the Brandon University Bobcats today at 7:45 p.m.

“Very excited. I’ve been looking forward to this day for a long time now,” Wilson said. “Especially it’s my last year this year so being able to play a Canada West regular season game in Brandon is really exciting for me.”

“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because we only play here once every two years and the way my schooling’s going to finish up, this is my last crack to play here,” Paddock added. “It’s definitely something I thought of my whole life but put in my subconscious mind the past five or six years.”

Perhaps the best dynamic of it all is they get to play against the man who taught them the game and taught Wilson a whole lot more. Bobcats head coach Grant Wilson, Reece’s dad, will have to put aside some pride when he sees the two take the court across from him and make sure the 4-6 Cascades stay well clear of his 6-4 Bobcats in the Canada West standings entering the semester break.

“It’ll be exciting to be out there together but at the end of the day, we both know we have jobs to do,” Grant Wilson said. “They’re going to try to do whatever they can to win, we’re going to do whatever we can to win, at the end of the day, somebody’s not going to be very happy.

“From a family standpoint, a personal standpoint, it’ll be a pretty proud moment and I look forward to it.

“Max has been Reece’s best friend since they were five years old. He’s part of our family. Super proud of what he’s been able to do and look forward to seeing him out there on the court as well.”

A few years ago, this might not have been the matchup it is now. The Cascades endured growing pains in their first season in Canada West after leaving the PacWest of the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association. UFV won one match and was later awarded two via forfeit to post a 3-13 record, then lost three matches in the modified playoffs.

It finished 4-20 last year and missed the post-season. But this year feels different. The Cascades opened the season with a victory over the defending national champion Trinity Western Spartans and earned a split against a tough Calgary team.

The Bobcats, who are coming off a split against the Wesmen in Winnipeg, see why UFV has improved.

“In my opinion, they’re one of the best serving teams in the country and so that’s going to create some issues for us perhaps at times,” Grant Wilson said. “It’s going to be managing the ball, trying not to get aced, keep the ball in play and find a way to score.”

“We’ve got to be a good serving team this weekend to take them out of rhythm as best as possible and allow our block defence to do its thing,” he added, not giving away whether he’d target or avoid his son in the service game.

“I can’t get too much into our game plan and give things away but certainly Reece has established himself as one of the best receivers in the country. But with that said, our team isn’t afraid of going after anybody.”

Reece said a lot of his team’s success hinges on continuity and the chemistry they’ve built from staying together since that one-win season.

He agreed that his guys are elite servers, and as a libero who deals with them daily in practice, knows it as well as anyone. The ones to watch are outsides Nimo Benne and Jonas Van Huizen and middle blockers Ryan Hampe and Tyson Ardell.

The Cascades, at least Wilson and Paddock, are focused on the Bobcats block defence led by middles Philipp Lauter and Paycen Warkentin plus six-foot-seven setter JJ Love. They lead the conference with a massive 3.09 blocks per set — with no one else over 2.67.

“They’re really big, physical guys and you know they’re going to work their tail off every single point regardless of what the score is. It’s going to be a battle all night,” Reece Wilson said.

“They’re a great blocking team … And they’re scrappy,” Paddock added. “One thing we’ve found is Manitoba teams are tough defensively. The ball’s always going to come back over so we’ve got to be ready for it this weekend.”

Wilson and Paddock grew up playing for the Brandon Volleyball Club and suited up for the Neelin Spartans before Paddock signed full-time with the Pats. When Paddock had a nagging injury that kept him off the ice but, for whatever reason, didn’t hinder his ability to play volleyball last summer, he went to open gyms with Reece and the Bobcats.

Reece realized his old setter still had some game and talked coach Nathan Bennett into giving him a shot.

It has paid off as Paddock — the son of BU athletic director Russ — has started a handful of matches this year. He admitted he had to develop a lot to keep up with the Canada West game but said Bennett and assistant coach Derek Meeuwisse have been great throughout the process.

“(Meeuwisse) really helped me with setting and making sure I’m doing everything well technically and giving me that confidence that I belong in the league,” Paddock said, adding it’s incredible how much Wilson has improved too.

“It’s kind of hard to believe, from not having many opportunities and going to COTR and playing out of his mind out there, to being our guy. We rely on him.

“He takes up a lot of the court and makes our other passers’ lives easier, makes my job as a setter easier too because the ball’s always where you want it.”

The teams play one more match to wrap up the first half on Saturday at 6:45 p.m.

The BU women (0-10) and UFV (7-3) start each day, with the first serve tonight at 6 o’clock and Saturday at 5 p.m.

Grant may be letting Reece sleep in his own bed this weekend, but Reece has no intention of repaying the gesture with a win.

“I would like to take one off the old man, for sure.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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