Cougars set to begin MCAC title defence

The Assiniboine College Cougars know how hard it is to climb to the top.

They inched their way up year by year until finally winning the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference women’s volleyball title last season.

Now, they’re about to find out how hard it is to stay there.

The 2026-27 season begins on Friday at home against Canadian Mennonite University. The first serve is at 7:45 p.m., following the men’s match at 6 o’clock.

“The most excited,” second-year setter Nevaeh Martin said of the long-awaited home opener. “It’s been so fun. Even over the summer, I was really excited.

“I was really grateful to be a big piece of (the championship), especially coming in a bit older. I took those two years off before I started playing volleyball, so coming back I wasn’t expecting to have a big role or anything, but the girls are so nice and made it such a good experience.”

The Cougars were busy in September and October, playing 13 exhibition matches in North Dakota, Winnipeg, Brandon, Saskatchewan and Alberta. They went 3-10, playing mixed lineups as head coaches Kevin Neufeld and Jayde Hansen-Young figure out how to fill almost an entire starting lineup worth of graduated players.

“We’ve had, as expected, a pre-season where we’ve been really good at times, and at other times, not so much. Our inconsistency would be typical of having pretty much all first- and second-year players where we make those one or two silly errors each set,” Neufeld said.

“We’ll be better in the second half as well; we just need to be a little more consistent right now.”

The championship-winning group included Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association all-Canadians Tyra Lasuik and Kylee Peake, who have both moved on. Lasuik transferred to the University of Winnipeg to play for the Wesmen at the U Sports level.

Martin said they set a terrific example for the returning players to follow in how they treated each other both on and off the court.

“They really valued each other outside of volleyball and put in lots of effort in their friendship. You could tell their chemistry when they were on the court and how they could read each other,” Martin said.

“All of the second-years have really taken a step up because we’ve wanted to put in effort to make sure we’re a good community for the rookies to step into.

“Each of them has become more mature over the summer and wants it to be a good experience for the rookies.”

Martin is one of two setters pushing for playing time, while rookie Summer Cadotte is coming off a terrific year including an 18-and-under club provincial title with Winman Volleyball Club.

Neufeld isn’t sure which one will take over the starting role just yet.

He feels the same way about his liberos, as veteran Victoria Cabral and rookie Jordan Hudon are looking to replace the steady presence of Jordyn Bradbury.

“Victoria brings a little bit more life and energy, but Jordan’s serve receive has been terrific. They’re both going to push each other and both going to get opportunities to play,” Neufeld said.

Neufeld expects former Wesmen Monique Rouire, who spent the past season at Peru State of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, to be one of the best middle blockers in the MCAC.

Behind her, he has solid depth with Kiana McDonald, Halle Duncan and Dillan Kendrick.

Opposite Celina Toews is working her way back from ankle surgery, so former Neelin Spartan Layla Desjardin has a path to immediate court time if she can adjust to the level quickly.

The one clear thing is the Cougars will lean on 2025-26 rookie of the year Payton McNish. The six-foot outside hitter from Rivers was also named to the all-conference team after posting 115 kills and a .346 hitting percentage.

“She hasn’t had a great pre-season, but she is pretty excited to get back into league play,” Neufeld said. “Because we are young, we played a lot of people in pre-season and we weren’t there to showcase her; we were there to see what others could do.

“It’ll be interesting to see when she’s playing three, four, five sets a night. She just has that ability to score. Her serve receive is very good. She’s high in the air and she can have a huge impact on our success for sure.”

Neufeld feels Anika Gulenchin is ready for the second outside hitting spot, but certainly won’t be shy to look to a few capable rookies for a change-up.

The league has extended the regular season to 20 matches with the return of the Red River Rebels. AC hosts Red River on Saturday at noon (men) and 1:45 p.m. (women).

The Cougars have a home-heavy schedule early, with two more matches against the Rebels on Nov. 6-7, then a pair against the Blazers on Nov. 20 and 21.

They close the regular season at home on Feb. 13. Like last season, the top seed has a bye to the best-of-three final, with second and third playing a single-elimination semifinal.

The MCAC champion heads to nationals in LaSalle, Que., on March 11-14.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com