MVB: Quarterfinal Preview

Feb. 22, 2024 – Eight teams have qualified for the 2024 Canada West men’s volleyball playoffs, and every one of them has every reason to believe they can capture the Costa Chrysanthou Trophy.

The quarter-final round of the playoffs is scheduled for Thursday through Sunday, with four best-of-three series. Alberta takes on Manitoba and Mount Royal entertains Winnipeg, while Trinity Western hosts Brandon and Saskatchewan visits UBC.

While Canada West men’s volleyball is renowned for incredible parity among an elite group of teams, this year has potential to be one of the most competitive postseasons ever.

Every team in the field posted a regular season win percentage above .540. Just three wins separated first place from seventh place in the standings, while the teams in third through sixth place all have identical records. Three of the four quarter-final series saw the teams split their head-to-head games during the regular season.

The participating programs account for all but one of the last 28 Canada West men’s volleyball champions. That includes the defending champion Golden Bears, who defeated Trinity Western in the final last year to capture their conference-record 13^th title.

Quarter-final winners advance to the best-of-three semifinal round, which are scheduled for the first weekend of March.

Catch all Canada West playoff action live and on-demand at Canada West TV. 

UBC Thunderbirds (16-8) vs. Saskatchewan Huskies (16-8) at War Memorial Gymnasium in Vancouver

• Series schedule:
• Game 1 – Friday, February 23 – 8 p.m. PST
• Game 2 – Saturday, February 24 – 7 p.m. PST
• Game 3 (if necessary) – Sunday, February 25 – 5 p.m. PST
• Regular season head-to-head:
  • Feb. 9: UBC 2 at Saskatchewan 3
  • Feb. 10: UBC 3 at Saskatchewan 1
• Who to watch:
  • Mason Greves (UBC, third year, setter) was among the best at his position in 2023-24, ranking third in Canada West for both digs per set, 2.18, and assists per set, 10.13.
  • Ethan Smith (Saskatchewan, second year, libero) had a career-high 193 digs to rank fourth in Canada West after being an All-Rookie team selection in 2022-23.