Camosun volleyball teams keen to capitalize on home court advantage

Following their fall-out against the Capilano University Blues in North Vancouver last weekend, the Chargers men’s and women’s volleyball teams are hoping that the home court advantage this weekend will help them score some wins as they play host to the Columbia Bible College Bearcats.

While the Christmas break was good for the Camosun men, allowing the athletes to rest and recover from a hard semester of training, last week’s matches against Capilano proved difficult for the team who could not find their form.

“Unlike CAP, who played a difficult match the previous weekend, we started the second half with a bye and the road trip to North Vancouver was our first taste of action,” commented Chargers Men’s Volleyball Head Coach Charles Parkinson.  “The set scores in each of the matches were very close, but helped by a hometown crowd, they were able to break through when they needed to.  Having made a few changes to their roster, Capilano is now a team to be reckoned with and the battle for the play-offs has become infinitely more interesting.”

Camosun captain Garrett Marcellus (fourth-year leftside from Oak Bay) continued his steady play last week and the team (now with 5 wins and 11 losses) will be counting on him to lead the charge against the Bearcats who are the defending CCAA National Champions.  Marcellus’ blocking, passing and transition offense has anchored the team this season and provided spark in times of need.

Against CBC's high-flying wing spiker Will Quiring, who leads the league in offensive stats, the Chargers will be relying on second-year rightside Jon Joerstad (International student from Oslo, Norway) and fourth-year rightside Andy Inglis (Red Deer) to slow down the point giant with their size and aggressiveness.  Also important for the Chargers this weekend will be Alex Sadowski (Belmont), the team’s 6'7" middle who leads the league in blocking.  A first year player, Alex is gradually learning the subtleties of the middle position and his offense is rapidly improving.  This will be essential to counteract the 6"9" Danny Grant from CBC.

“We have the ability to match up well with CBC but in order to be successful this weekend we will need to contain Quiring, execute our game play and capitalize on home court advantage,” said Coach Parkinson.


The Chargers women also had a rusty return last weekend against Capilano but anticipate a good pair of matches against the fifth-place Bearcats on home ground.

“Against Capilano, we had opportunity to alter the shape and flow of the match on both days but we dropped a set 26-28 on Friday and another 23-25 on Saturday,” reported Camosun Women’s Volleyball Head Coach Chris Dahl.  “One can only suspect that winning those sets significantly alters the match as your opposition now feels inclined to adjust and change something they do.  We need to capitalize on some of those opportunities and pressure our opponents more.”

Despite the losses, which give the Chargers women a record of 7-8 (Camosun remains in fourth place), the team managed to incorporate a few new tactical approaches to their game and according to Coach Dahl, it is all just part of the process.

“Some of these [approaches] are specific to our athletes and their execution and decision making abilities while others are more team oriented and systems based,” said Coach Dahl. “It's a work in progress, but there is no better place for the refinement of these skills and methods than under the microscope of competition.  A lot about our game is consistency or lack thereof.  We have some incredible athletes in our program and we trust that they are working through the game so that things are repeatable in a way that we seek.  Clearly it takes time and commitment.”

Catch the Chargers this weekend at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence as they face off against the CBC Bearcats.  Or watch the action LIVE on SportsCanadaTV

Fri, Jan. 20           Women at 6pm          Camosun (#4) vs. CBC (#5)

                                 Men at 7:45pm          Camosun (#5) vs. CBC (#3)

Sat, Jan. 21          Women at 1pm          Camosun vs. CBC

                                 Men at 2:45pm          Camosun vs. CBC

“It’s a match up that I expect to provide some very entertaining volleyball on our home court at PISE and we’re looking forward to playing this weekend in front of our fans,” commented Coach Dahl.