Akash Grewal named CW Women’s Volleyball Player of the Week

Jan. 23, 2024 – The winter semester is kicking into high gear across Canada West as playoff races continue to heat up on the ice and on the court. Track and Field teams from across the conference converged in Edmonton for the annual Golden Bears Open, while the University of Alberta curling teams swept their way to double gold while hosting the 2024 Canada West Curling Championships.

Here are your Canada West Players of the Week.

Women’s Curling – Serena Gray-Withers (Alberta)

The Pandas skip was calm, cool and collected as she led her team to a banner performance at last weekend’s Canada West curling championships. The Pandas used ​ home ice to their advantage while gliding to an impressive 5-0 record, ultimately clinching the title on Sunday thanks to a 10-7 win over Calgary in Draw 5.

“The girls were playing really well all week. We were really flowing well together, the conversations we had were great,” said Gray-Withers, who was also named a Canada West All-Star. “Getting this banner is huge; it is a really great confidence booster for us as we head into provincials next week. We are all feeling well and playing great at the moment.”

Gray-Withers and her teammates will now prepare for the U SPORTS Championship in Fredericton, NB later in March.

Men’s Curling – Johnson Tao (Alberta)

Tao once again led the Golden Bears to conference glory, cementing his team’s status as the class of Canada West curling.

The Golden Bears successfully retained their championship crown and have now won five-straight Canada West titles. Going 5-0 this weekend at home, the Alberta men now own a perfect 21-0 record at the conference championship since it’s return in 2019.

The Golden Bears earned a back-and-forth 9-4 win over Calgary in the final draw to secure the title.

Tao and the Golden Bears will now get set for the U SPORTS Championship in Fredericton, NB later in March.

Women’s Track and Field – Sienna MacDonald (Calgary)

The Dinos delivered a dominant showing in pentathlon at last weekend’s Golden Bears Open in Edmonton, continuing their tradition of success in combined events with MacDonald leading the way.

MacDonald set numerous personal bests in a breakout performance, racking up a whopping 4139 points over the five events – far and away the top mark in U SPORTS so far this season. The third year also now ranks first in the 60m hurdles with a blazing time of 8.27 seconds – just shy of head coach Jessica Zelinka’s program record of 8.24 seconds that has stood since 2007. MacDonald also had an incredible long jump of 6.02m, setting a school record while also ranking her third in the country. Other highlights included a high jump of 1.65m and a shot put of 12.41m, which place her 10th in U SPORTS in both events.

Men’s Track and Field – Dawson Mann (Manitoba)

The fourth year from Sanford, Man. had an incredible performance at the Golden Bears Open in Edmonton last weekend, setting a new GBO record in the 600m.

His time of 1:17.78 not only broke the previous event record by 1.44s, but also placed him first in U SPORTS while also qualifying him the 2024 U SPORTS national championships, which will be hosted by the University of Manitoba at the James Daly Fieldhouse from March 7 to 9.

Women’s Hockey – ​ Chanreet Bassi (UBC)

Bassi’s big offensive weekend powered the T-Birds to a weekend sweep of west coast rival Trinity Western.

The fourth year forward from Lake Country, B.C. got the weekend started on a fast note, capitalizing on an early power play to score UBC’s first goal in Friday’s 6-0 Winter Classic win. She would add another tally and collect two helpers in that game, before adding an assist the following night in a 4-1 road triumph.

The T-Birds have rolled to a 20-1-1-2 record so far this season and Bassi’s offensive production has been a contributing factor. She is second in league scoring with 12 goals and 25 points in 24 games, and is one of only two players in the conference who are averaging over a point per game.

Men’s Hockey – Chantz Petruic (Saskatchewan)

The Huskies filled the net 17 times during a two-game sweep of MacEwan, with Petruic leading the way with a seven point weekend.

He opened with two assists in a 10-0 blowout on Friday night, then added two goals and three assists in a 7-2 victory the following evening.

The third year forward from Moose Jaw, Sask. leads the Huskies in scoring with 10 goals and 16 assists in 20 games, averaging 1.30 PPG. He sits tied for eighth in overall conference scoring and has been a driving force for Saskatchewan, who have enjoyed a solid season with a 15-5 record.

Women’s Basketball – Myriam Kone (Calgary)

Kone’s career weekend powered the Dinos to a sweep of visiting Trinity Western. The second year guard lit up the scoresheet in both contests, pouring in 42 total points while also adding 13 assists and nine rebounds.

The Dinos opened with a commanding 90-63 win on Friday night, led by Kone’s career-high 24 points. The second year from Edmonton, Alta. went a tidy 9-13 shooting, including 4-6 from three, to go along with seven assists, five rebounds, three steals and a pair of blocks.

The Spartans pushed back hard on Saturday, but Kone once again pushed the Dinos to victory. She co-led the team with 18 points while adding a trio of three pointers, six assists, a steal and a block.

The 13-3 Dinos have now racked up six straight wins to start the new year and Kone has been a steady contributor on both ends of the floor. She leads the conference in assists with 71 and also sits fifth in steals with 41.

Men’s Basketball – Renoldo Robinson (Victoria)

In a weekend matchup between two conference powerhouses, Robinson raised his game while helping Victoria come away with a tough road split against Manitoba.

The second year product from Montreal, QC poured in a team high 26 points in an 83-79 defeat on Friday, shooting 4-for-6 from beyond the arc while adding four rebounds and a steal.

He then put his team on his back the following night, scoring a season high 46 points while lifting the Vikes to a dramatic 103-100 OT victory. He shot 60% from three, nailing six triples while also adding three assists and four boards.

Robinson has continued to improve in his sophomore season, sitting 13th in conference scoring with 16.6 PPG. A deeper dive shows how effective his minutes have been as he currently averages 30.7 points per 40 min, the third highest mark in the conference.

Women’s Volleyball – Akash Grewal (UBC)

In a battle of Canada West powers, Grewal proved why she is one of the standout players in the conference.

The third year hometown Vancouver product struck for 26 kills over a weekend split with Manitoba, hitting a combined .387% with an incredible 12 service aces.

She tied a career-high with eight service aces in Friday’s straight set victory, to go along with an impressive 12 kills and seven digs. She led the way again the following night with 14 kills, four service aces and two blocks in a tough five-set defeat.

UBC currently leads the conference with a 16-2 record and Grewal has been a key contributor to their success. Her fireball serves continues to keep opposing teams on edge as she now leads the conference with 47 aces. She also sits second in CW with a .343 hitting percentage.

Men’s Volleyball – Sam Flowerday (Thompson Rivers)

Flowerday powered the WolfPack to a weekend sweep of UBCO, a pair of wins that also clinched the men’s Presidents’ Cup, an annual competition between TRU and UBCO that tallies points for wins in head-to-head matches between the two schools.

He was the catalyst offensively for the home side on Friday, as the product of Australia struck for 20 kills and six service aces in an intense 3-2 win, with the six aces setting a new career high.

He then had one of the strongest games of his prolific TRU career the following day, lifting the WolfPack to another five set victory by delivering 23 kills on 51 swings.

You can find Flowerday right at the top of the Canada West leaderboards in many categories. He sits fourth in total kills with 269 in 16 games, and is fifth in kills-per-set with 3.84.