BU Bobcats struggle with tough first-half schedule

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This article was published 20/12/2023 (743 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s hard enough to win in Canada West when players commit to growing together.

When your best player one year is your opening-night opponent’s star the next, and she’s one of 13 players to leave in two seasons, good luck.

That’s what interim head coach Kailan Robinson and the Brandon University Bobcats women’s volleyball team are up against as they deal with the aftermath of a coach, Lee Carter, who lost the locker room, half his recruits and potentially his job, pending a third-party investigation into his conduct and BU’s subsequent decision based on its findings.

The Bobcats are 0-12 with just two set wins and a bundle of blowouts, as expected when half the roster moved to BU just four months ago.

“We did okay with what our expectations were for the first half,” Robinson said. “We just wanted to compete and show everyone we’re a serious team in this league. Lots of 3-0 losses, but there were a couple of sets we won against really good teams.

“We’re going to keep pushing to try and reach our goal of winning a game this year and just be happy with how we play in general, regardless of the score.”

TOUGH START

Keely Anderson was one of four Bobcats in the last two years to transfer to the University of Saskatchewan. U Sports acknowledged her compassionate appeal, meaning she didn’t have to sit out a season before immediately carving up the Bobcats for 11 kills and six aces in the season opener. She led her team with 11 kills again in the rematch.

The Bobcats were on the wrong end of six straight sweeps before snagging a 25-23 set off MacEwan (9-3) in Edmonton. Then, a night after Brandon scored just 31 points in three sets against Winnipeg, it pushed the host Wesmen (5-7) to four sets the following night.

The semester ended with a mix of close and lopsided sets, all falling the way of the Fraser Valley Cascades.

For Robinson, the season’s about improvement and establishing a positive team culture in a group which lacked optimism last year.

“During the week we have good energy. We’re excited for the weekends, we’re competing as a team, we’re having fun and they want to be here,” Robinson said.

“Sometimes after games, it’s tough. Everyone wants better for the team, like the energy might be a bit down because we want to win, because we care so much about winning but I like that it shows the girls are competitive.”

LINEUP LOCKS

Just two numbers have stayed on Robison’s starting rotation card since the season opener.

Third-year setter Carly Thomson has retained the job, though six-foot rookie Alex Roberge comes regularly as a blocker or in a double substitution to keep three attackers in the front row longer.

The other is Avery Burgar, who is lagging one year behind Anderson’s path from right side to left side and becoming the go-to attacker for BU.

Burgar leads the team by a mile with 80 kills, 2.22 kills per set, 70 errors, 12 aces and 29 service errors. One way or another, points end when the third-year hitter touches the ball.

She draws a ton of attention from opposing blockers, which has led to a dismal hitting percentage of .034.

“If you just look at paper and stats, it’s clear Avery just needs to work on being more efficient, reducing her hitting errors, her serving errors. She’s a player where she’s high risk, high reward right now,” Robinson said.

“I’ve had a lot of fun watching her develop her offence, starting to try new shots and change things up a bit. She’s starting to find confidence in herself as a player who has to carry the team.”

College transfer Ava Pearson should be one of the safer ones since BU’s best lineup simply includes its six-foot-one right side playing well.

“Almost every team has had a big left side. Their left side carries their team. Having Ava, one of our tallest players out on right side trying to block, that’s where our head’s at,” Robinson said.

“We need someone big out there blocking the left-side position. She’s still young as well, her first year playing U Sports so she’s learning lots … All around, her game’s just getting better every week.”

POSITION BATTLES

The rest of the lineup has changed and it appears that will continue.

BU started the season with Camryn Hildebrand and Megan Pickford in the middle and shuffled Barbados native Nerissa Dyer through for both of them throughout the semester.

Dyer has statistically been the top option, with 47 kills and 1.68 per set for a team-leading .268 hitting percentage while posting .54 blocks per set.

Robinson said lately it’s been Pickford and Dyer to focus on blocking, though that leaves out Hildebrand, who leads the team with 20 blocks and .71 blocks per set.

Robinson has picked the second left-side spot based on need from week to week. Second-year Laura Ramsey is the steady passing option, being aced just under once every two sets. Rookie Georgia is the aggressive hitting option, with 19 kills in just 13 sets so far.

If Robinson simply doesn’t want mistakes, she’ll put third-year Kallie Ball in.

Then, Hildebrand’s former Vincent Massey Vikings teammate Jayde Hansen-Young chips in as a defensive specialist in the back row for a few rotations.

At libero, Brianne Stott was the clear starter on Day 1, but that flipped for the last three matches as Brooklyn Pratt took over.

Stott has 89 digs and 2.62 digs per set with .59 receiving errors per set on 175 attempts. Pratt has 33 digs, 1.5 per set and a remarkable .23 receiving errors per set on 86 total attempts.

In theory, that’s the perfect situation for a two-libero system where Pratt plays BU’s receiving points and Stott plays the serving points to focus on digging.

However, Robinson prefers letting her liberos play the whole set to stay in rhythm.

“Brooklyn’s just been working really hard and she was just a bit ahead of Bri these last few weeks. Honestly, her defence and her serve receive have been well and I have a hard time not putting her on the floor when she’s been so well for us. Bri’s healthy, she’s working hard, too, she’s doing as good as she can but Brooklyn’s just on her heels,” Robinson said.

“That one’s also going to become a week-to-week battle between the two of them and I love watching them compete with each other because they are close, they’re friends, it’s not causing bad energy between them.”

There are two schools of thought on position battles. Some players are better when they have a longer leash and can relax, not worrying about mistakes leading to a trip to the bench. On the other hand, competition can motivate players to work harder every day.

For one, Burgar mentioned early this season how much easier it is to focus on her game and lead a younger group this season when she knows she’ll start.

Robinson still isn’t sure what this team’s best lineup will be in January or moving into the next few seasons, so she wants everyone to push each other and grow through motivation.

“I think it’s a way to make your team better to have two people competing for their spot because then everyone can be on their A-game and everyone can be playing well,” Robinson said.

“I hope everyone keeps their confidence, I hope everyone doesn’t lose faith in this team but that’s how I like to coach.”

MOVING FORWARD

It can’t get worse for Brandon in 2024 and there’s a good chance it gets better. The Bobcats start the second term at Calgary (4-8) on Jan. 5 and 6, then host Regina (0-12) the following weekend.

Incredibly tough road weekends at Trinity Western (10-0) and UBC (11-1) are offset by home dates against Mount Royal (2-10) and Thompson Rivers (2-8), so the odds of improving on last year’s win total of zero aren’t bad.

Still, the Bobcats rank near or at the bottom of the 14-team league in most statistical categories. Nothing they do is a recipe for short-term success, so something needs to change soon or a conference losing streak dating back to 2022 will hit 50 games.

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