Pauls, BU set for home tourney

Liam Pauls left for Gatineau and Mexico, then returned to Brandon University in a completely new situation.

The Team Canada outside hitter is one of just three starters returning from the lineup that won the Bobcats’ first-ever U Sports men’s volleyball championship in March.

The new-look BU squad returns to match action tonight at the site of its magic moment, against the team it beat to reach the final. It’s the Bobcats against the Saskatchewan Huskies at the Healthy Living Centre at 7:30 p.m., and Pauls can’t wait to see what his young team can do.

“I’m just excited to help them out. It’ll be a learning experience or a good challenge for them,” Pauls said. “Being that stable guy to help them through it, and our coaches will help them through it … I think we have a great squad, so there’s going to be some interesting battles and I’m excited to see it.”

The former Stonewall Ram, who won a club volleyball national title with Bisons Volleyball Club before joining the Bobcats, is entering his fourth and possibly final year in the Wheat City.

Following a standout season, the six-foot-five outside hitter received an invite to Volleyball Canada’s NextGen selection camp and made the team, along with Bobcats setter JJ Love.

Pauls said it was the best atmosphere he could have asked for.

“I get pushed here, but then on the international stage, seeing some of the A-team guys in the gym and being able to battle with all the other guys, it was pretty cool,” Pauls said.

“They know so much about nutrition, so much about lifting weights, and they’re really detailed in practice, so that was something I could carry over here.”

BU head coach Grant Wilson was an assistant coach for Dave Preston and got to see his star improve significantly.

Wilson said Pauls developed a better understanding of the game and grew in knowing what must be done off the court to succeed on it. More importantly, Wilson said Pauls matured emotionally.

“He’s a guy that could ride the emotions, but I felt like he was much more in control of his temperament on the court, and for me it was a very positive showing,” Wilson said.

“He came in and served at pretty important moments. He’s got a very good serve and he put pressure on other teams when he came in, and made some defensive plays as well, so maybe it wasn’t the role he wanted, but it was a role he accepted and did the best he could with it. He definitely benefited our team.”

Pauls agreed. He said he found consistency — something Wilson preaches as vital to his team’s success — through his work with Volleyball Canada mental performance coach Donna McDonagh.

“It was just me finding, instead of being careless or careful, carefree, which is the middle of that,” Pauls said.

“I’m not too tight, being careful. I’m not too loose, being careless. I’m right in the middle, and if I’m slipping, I know how to bring myself back.”

Canada earned a bronze medal at the NORCECA Pan Am Cup in Mexico at the end of August.

The next challenge for Pauls was finding motivation again after the four-month grind. He said he needed a break to let that eagerness return, but it has.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR AT HOME TOURNEY

Now, Pauls and senior outside hitter Tom Friesen will watch teammates step up to fill the rest of the starting roles while newcomers fight for all the open spots.

Love left to play professionally in Greece, while middle blocker Philipp Lauter graduated and is playing in Germany with former Bobcat Robin Baghdady.

Opposite Riley Grusing and libero Michael Flor graduated.

The other middle blocker, Chris Bryant, unexpectedly didn’t return, while recruit Kash Meyers didn’t report for training camp and won’t play this season.

While plenty of starting spots are open, Wilson has guys with at least some experience at most. Under-21 national team setter Kale Fisher is the likely starter, with Riley Brunet and Matthew Siebenga in the middle.

Fifth-year opposite Liam Kindle could finally seize his opportunity to start, though nothing is guaranteed to anyone on this team.

“We’ve got to be able to plug guys into the lineup and trust they’ll be able to do the job regardless of who it is,” Wilson said. “So we will do a lot of that this weekend, just experimenting with roles, lineups, positional situations.

“We want to get our young guys some experience, but we also want to get our older guys moving forward as well, so it’ll be a combination of those things.”

The Bobcats play the Winnipeg Wesmen on Friday at 5:30 p.m., then the Manitoba Bisons on Saturday at 5:30 p.m.

BU is playing the 7:30 p.m., match on Thursday to allow Saskatchewan more travel time, with Manitoba and Winnipeg squaring off at 5:30 p.m.

The bottom two teams will meet in the third-place match on Sunday at 11 a.m., with the top two following at 1 p.m.

Day passes are $7, while full-tournament passes are $10.

“We need to figure out how we want to play the game, how we’re going to be successful, we always talk about being able to plug and play,” Wilson said.

“What better way to do it than against great competition? Winnipeg, Manitoba, Sask., will all be top teams in Canada West again.

“They’ll be able to put pressure on us regardless of what lineup they put out there, so I think it’ll be a really good opportunity for our group to learn some things about us.”

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

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