BU hungry for more offence, wins

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This article was published 19/10/2024 (532 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The bar was limbo low for the Brandon University Bobcats to improve last season.

One win and/or fewer than six players quitting the women’s volleyball team would have cleared the disaster of a 2022-23 Canada West campaign.

They checked both boxes but would be far from satisfied with a repeat of their 1-23 finish this time around.

“Last year, the culture shift was incredible. The girls were so much happier,” said interim head coach Kailan Robinson. “This year, the shift is we want to be more accountable, we want to be better, we want to win.

“It creates a more intense training environment and they are demanding that out of us as coaches to be harder on [them].”

Brandon was ranked 14th of 14 in the conference coaches’ poll this week but feels confident after a win over the host MacEwan Griffins in their last pre-season tournament.

PICK YOUR BATTLES

BU’s on one of three byes this weekend and has another in two weeks after opening the season at Trinity Western next Friday.

The Bobcats’ home opener is Nov. 8 against the Saskatchewan Huskies. They head to the University of Manitoba to play the defending Canada West champion Bisons after that, then visit the Regina Cougars, who they beat last year before welcoming the Alberta Pandas to the Healthy Living Centre on Nov. 29-30.

“Trinity’s a tough team to start against, it’s not really easing into it per se,” Robinson said. “Playing Sask … Regina first half, these are teams that we compete with, that we want to beat, that makes me excited for the way our season is lined up.”

The second half starts in Calgary against the Mount Royal Cougars, then BU has a bye followed by six straight matches at home.

The Fraser Valley Cascades (Jan. 24-25), Calgary Dinos (Jan. 31-Feb. 1) and Winnipeg Wesmen (Feb. 7-8) visit before Brandon closes the season at Thompson Rivers on Feb. 14-15.

Then, 10 teams make the newly expanded playoffs starting the following weekend.

“Those three home [weekends] will be a chance for us to settle into routine, really play like ourselves, take full advantage of home court and push for more wins,” Robinson said.

“Depending on how the first half goes, more teams making playoffs, it’s something to fight for, for sure.”

LINEUP LOCKS

The Bobcats only lost two full-time starters from last season, though few players fell into that category as BU tinkered with its lineup often.

Middle blocker Camryn Hildebrand and libero Brianne Stott graduated with some eligibility left while left side Laura Ramsey transferred out of the province for academic reasons but isn’t playing.

Carly Thomson and Avery Burgar might touch the ball more than the rest of the Bobcats combined.

The senior setter/outside hitter duo accounted for a third of Brandon’s offence, with Burgar posting 177 kills and 139 errors on 615 attempts.

Thomson recorded 409 assists and added 36 kills with 20 errors as one of Brandon’s most efficient attackers.

“Carly’s just solid in her all-around game. She brings a strong serve, her set location is more consistent because she’s played a lot longer, she’s running the tempo I want to see,” Robinson said.

“She’s more comfortable using her middles in transition, trying to run a pipe (back-row attack) in system, these things we’ve been trying to bring to her game that only a senior who feels confident in her abilities can start to think outside the box.

“She’s also such a strong offensive setter. She had so many attempts every game in pre-season where she was getting six kills on 12 attempts … that’s someone you want on the floor because it really makes the other team think.”

Nerissa Dyer and Megan Pickford both played in more than half the matches last year.

Dyer, the Barbados import, was second on the team with 83 kills and 40 errors and leads all returning players with a .195 hitting percentage and 50 blocks.

“They both, over the pre-season, have shown to be efficient attackers. Just going with that theme, I want them on the floor,” Robinson said.

“Alexa [Parken] is the first-year middle who will push them and come in if they’re struggling but otherwise those two are pretty set.”

While Brooklyn Pratt’s Bobcat career started slow, with a redshirt season and a torn ACL, she fought back and made herself unbenchable last year as one of the strongest passers on the team. Robinson initially wanted to roll with one libero, Stott, but switched to a two-libero system with Pratt receiving serves.

For now, she’s set to take all the reps with rookie Eva Dooks as the backup.

“Right now Brooklyn’s a stronger serve receiver, a little bit more confidence being someone who’s played in the league before, so she’s a bit ahead but Eva’s working so hard to try and earn playing time and also someone we can use in the back row,” Robinson said.

“She proved herself as a perfect serving sub/defender.”

POSITION BATTLES

Besides Burgar, the other outside spots are most subject to change.

Kallie Ball wasn’t sure she’d return after last season but now plans to graduate and reapply for dentistry, so she’s back in the mix as a stable, defence-first left side.

Georgia Johnson provided a spark and some volatility on offence, posting 55 kills and 45 errors on 201 attempts as a rookie.

Cassidy Hauta saw most of her playing time late last season, recording 41 kills and 32 errors on the right side.

Jayde Hansen-Young carved out a role in the back row and will likely continue regularly subbing in mid-set.

“Overall, I’m looking for the people that will score for us,” Robinson said. “Cass is our right side who we finished the year with and who wants to be in that spot. If she’s struggling, we can move Avery to right side.

“Georgia’s strong on offence so she’s really clear in one of those roles too. Kallie, she needs to score more to earn that spot but she’s a strong passer and she’s fighting for the P2 spot.

“I never forget about Jayde because she’s the back-row defender, she’s also a P2, she’s someone who’s fighting for front-row playing time but can really shine in the back row.”

BY THE NUMBERS

Numbers don’t lie and they aren’t pretty.

Offensively, Brandon finished last in Canada West in kills per set (8.01), hitting percentage (.083) and points per set (11).

On defence, BU also had league lows of 11.06 digs per set and 1.59 blocks per set.

The Bobcats were last in aces per set at 1.39 and surrendered a league-high 217 aces.

The good news, BU can hope, is it lost less talent than most teams. While it has no high-impact additions, one more year together for the core group could start turning things around.

“I’d love to see us push for the top 10, make a playoff spot. That would be incredible for us,” Robinson said.

“I think we’re just going to take it one game at a time and win as many sets and matches as we can at the end of the day because we can do it.”

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