Brock men’s volleyball signs four recruits for upcoming 2024-25 season

On Tuesday, July 2,  the Brock Badgers men’s volleyball team announced their recruiting class for the 2024-25 season. 

Head coach Ian Eibbitt has bolstered his squad with the signings of Lucas Bouwers, Alexandre Falardeau-Mercier, Nathaniel Pavlic and Sasha Thiessen.

“We are very excited to welcome these fine young men to our Badger volleyball family,” said Eibbitt. “This year’s recruiting class brings us depth in three different positions, which will enhance our daily training environment as well as build our depth for future success. We are excited to see how they will influence our team culture and push our program to the next level with the focus of embracing a competitive culture of excellence.” 

Bouwers, an Ancaster, Ont product, won two Ontario Federation Secondary School Association (OFSAA) ‘A’ titles with the Hamilton District Christian High School Knights. 

Starting his Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) club volleyball career at nine years old, the 6-3 outside hitter played for his home club, the Ancaster Lions, for all eight seasons. 

“I chose to attend Brock because of their great academic history as well as their successful sports teams,” Bouwers said. “I know the people around me at Brock will give 100% to make me a better student-athlete.” 

Bouwers is set to enroll in the Sport Management program at Brock University.  

Hoping to boost their presence on the outside pins, the Badgers added Falardeau-Mercier, a 6-7 athlete who can play both on the left and right side. 

The local Welland product suited up for Team Ontario Elite training group during the 2023-24 season and was a member of Team Ontario Red from 2021-22 to 2022-23. 

Falardeau-Mercier played his club volleyball locally with the Niagara Rapids and plans to study Integrated Engineering at the University. 

“Studying at Brock University was something that greatly appealed to me because of how close it was to home,” said Falardeau-Mercier. “During my younger years playing for my club team, I frequently went to go watch the Badgers men’s volleyball team to see what volleyball at the high-performance level looked like. This inspired me to continue my volleyball career and eventually pursue a spot with the Brock Badgers.” 

Helping fortify the Brock defence will be Pavlic, a 5-10 libero from Stoney Creek, who is planning to major in Kinesiology. 

Beginning his career with the Mountain Athletic Club (MAC) in Hamilton, Pavlic received the Ontario Volleyball Association (OVA) Award of Excellence in two consecutive seasons.  

He suited up for the Halton Hurricanes Volleyball Club for his 17U and 18U seasons, where he helped the team win a provincial gold medal in 2022-23 (17U) and a provincial silver medal in 2023-24 (18U). During that stretch, Pavlic and the Hurricanes also earned two fifth-place finishes at the national championships. 

“I am most looking forward to becoming a better me.” said Pavlic. “Balancing the heavy workload from school and training everyday with the team will help me build skills that will benefit me throughout my life. I strive to become the best person I can be, and I cannot be more excited for that next year at Brock.” 

The final member of the class is Thiessen, who joins other family members who have attended Brock University.

The 6-4 Baden, Ont native will bring depth and height to the setter position. 

Thiessen played his club volleyball with the Kitchener-Waterloo Predators which was highlighted by a fourth-place finish at the Volleyball Canada Youth National Championships in 2023 (17U Division 1).  

“The family that has attended Brock has loved it and the Business program seems great,” said Thiessen. “On top of that, the volleyball program here is awesome. The coaches care a lot about the players, and the team was very welcoming the first time I met them.” 

Stay tuned to gobadgers.ca to find out when the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) men’s 2024-25 volleyball schedule gets released.