Lauter, Wiebe crack Canada West all-star squads

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This article was published 10/03/2022 (1466 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Philipp Lauter stands alone in Canada West men’s volleyball history.

Since the 2001 merger with the Great Plains Athletic Conference, no rookie was named a first-team all-star until the Brandon University Bobcats star claimed the honour on Wednesday.

“Being named to the first team as a rookie speaks volumes to the kind of player he is,” said Bobcats captain Jake Fleming. “Since he’s arrived at our program he absolutely dominated. Maybe people didn’t know how good he was until he stepped out of our conference and we kept playing teams from the West and Central Division.

“Last weekend he just lit a spark and showed he’s able to dominate anyone in the country.”

The Wiesbaden, Germany native was astounding from his opening weekend, when he put up 14 kills with one error in a five-set win over Winnipeg. It turned out to be just his eighth-most efficient night at the net.

The six-foot-seven middle blocker posted career highs of 23 kills and six blocks in a 3-2 triumph over Manitoba last month, adding 19 kills on 29 attempts the following night to claim his second Canada West player of the week award and first U Sports weekly honour.

Lauter finished second in Canada West with a .380 hitting percentage. He was also named to the all-rookie team, of course.

Head coach Grant Wilson tinkered with his lineup all season, once playing Lauter at right side before realizing a hybrid of the two could be perfect. While most middle blockers take a seat for three rotations after they serve, Lauter just leaves the court briefly while right side Jens Watt — who played libero first semester and finished second in Canada West with 2.10 digs per set — is in the front row.

When he goes back to serve, Lauter takes Position No. 1 (back row right side) and Watt assumes the back left spot.

“It does a ton for us from a game perspective,” Fleming said. “Having Jens play (position) five is huge for us. He’s probably our best defender and whenever you can get a guy like that playing five and taking a lot of volume is absolutely huge.”

Lauter has proven a deadly back-row option and his defensive game is head and shoulders better than the average middle.

“Having your best player as a middle really opens up the game for your team and I think he’s been helping us win a lot of games even when he’s not touching the ball,” Fleming said.

“Teams have to respect him wherever he is on the court and all year we’ve shown we’re going to keep getting the ball to Philipp wherever he is and I think we’re going to let that keep opening up the game for us.”

The Bobcats take on the host Alberta Golden Bears today at 8 p.m. CT, then Winnipeg Wesmen on Friday at the same time in the second round of the playoffs. Two teams advance to the final four next weekend.

WIEBE GOES OUT AN ALL-STAR

Rayvn Wiebe carried a heavy offensive burden and led the Bobcats to their first winning record since before she arrived on campus in 2016.

She played her final match as a Bobcat on Saturday, dropping a 3-0 decision to No. 1 ranked Trinity Western, and was named a first-team all-star for the first time four days later.

“It’s awesome, it’s about time,” said head coach Lee Carter. “She has carried our team for years emotionally and physically our leader in points, on the court, off the court. Finally for her to get some recognition that was long overdue, I think it’s phenomenal.”

Wiebe recorded 224 kills, sitting sixth in Canada West at 3.56 kills per set and fourth at 4.1 points per set. She added 20 aces, 154 digs and 22 blocks and had a .190 hitting percentage.

The six-foot outside hitter from Morden helped BU win five of its last seven matches to finish 9-7 and second place in the East Division.

“She was playing at this level three years ago, just our supporting cast might not have been as good,” Carter said. “So … with a little bit lower of a record people were like ‘Well, if you’re going to be an all-star, you got to be able to help get your team over the hump.’ As our supporting cast got better she was able to shine.”

BU DISHES OUT MONTHLY AWARDS

The Bobcats had a few awards of their own to hand out Wednesday as Keely Anderson and Jamaal Gardner were named athletes of the month of February.

Anderson set the BU record for service aces in a match with nine against the Wesmen on Feb. 17. The six-foot-one right side also posted a career-high 21.5 points that night, then hit her personal best with 12 kills two nights later in Winnipeg.

She’s still a rookie.

“If we would have played a full league and the people outside of the East got to see Keely play, Keely’s on the all-rookie team,” Carter said. “She sets our record for serving aces in a game, in the playoffs she’s our second top scorer, I can’t speak for (Trinity Western coach) Ryan Hofer but I think he’d look at her name a little differently after he’s played her.

“She elevated her game a ton after Christmas, was able to settle herself down and just play instead of trying to prove that she belonged with Rayvn and instead just play and realize Keely Anderson was good enough.”

Gardner finished his first season in blue and gold on a tear. He put up double-digit point totals in each of the four regular-season games, closing the campaign with a win over Manitoba.

Then the six-foot-two import guard dropped a career-high 29 points in a 95-89 win over the University of Northern British Columbia to open the post-season before netting 26 in a 101-76 loss to Saskatchewan in the second round.

HOSFELD NAMED TO APPRENTICE COACH PROGRAM

Bobcats women’s volleyball assistant coach Ashley Hosfeld was named to the U Sports national female apprentice coach program earlier this week.

She was among the 18 of 37 applicants selected for the program, which results in funding to help her develop her craft under Carter.

“It allows her to spend a little bit more time with us,” Carter said. “It’s a matching grant so it might be able to replace —I’m going to exaggerate here, but — one of her seven jobs she’s doing.

“It gives her more recognition so when she’s ready to move on or when I’m ready to move on, whichever happens first, people have heard of her.”

Hosfeld played for the Bobcats from 2016 to 2018 after transferring from Fanshawe College in Ontario and is in her third season as an assistant coach.

Carter certainly appreciates her impact on the program.

“Her major strength is interpersonal skills. She’s really good with the team and has a really good insight into what’s going on with the athletes,” Carter said.

“… She has a good grasp for the game. We appreciate her insight when we’re playing.”

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