The York University Lions men’s volleyball team featured a major award winner and an all-star this year. Dan Everton, Jasraj Nijjar and Andrew Tauhid both took home hardware in the OUA’s announcement Wednesday afternoon.
Everton was awarded the Dale Iwanoczko Award of Merit for his tireless work on the volleyball court and in the community, while Tauhid landed first team all-star honours for a career season where he led in multiple offensive categories.
Everton, a fourth-year outside hitter from Penticton, B.C. The Lions senior, who boasts a perfect 9.0 GPA in biochemistry, is a three-time academic all-Canadian and is on track for the same honour this season. He is also currently publishing his undergraduate thesis.
Beyond academics, Everton has also been an active member of the York community. He is a PAWS mentor, which is a first-year student-athlete mentoring program; a member of the York Black and Indigenous Varsity Student-Athlete Alliance; a York Sport Council executive member; and a member of team leadership council.
Nijjar, named to the all-rookie squad, was a key addition for Nathan Groenveld‘s squad serving as the primary setter in his rookie campaign.
Tauhid, a fifth-year Liberal Arts & Professional Studies major from Toronto, Ont., his 3.88 kills per set was both a career high and a team high; he was fourth in the OUA in that category. He also led the Lions with 4.3 kills per set, and eight service aces. He is the first Lion to take home first team all-star honours since Logan Mend did it in back-to-back years in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Five Lions have previously won the Dale Iwanoczko Award of Merit, the most recent winner being Spencer Dakin Kuiper in 2017-18.
Award Winners
East Division
Most Valuable Player – Erik Siksna, Queen’s
Rookie of the Year – Jacob Walker, Rams
Coach of the Year – Steve Leknois, RMC
Dale Iwanoczko Award of Merit – Dan Everton, York
All-Stars
East Division
First Team
Erik Siksna, Queen’s
Jackson Young, Nipissing
Zane Grossinger, Toronto
Evan Falardeau, Toronto
Andrew Tauhid, York
Lachlan McBride, Queen’s
Lhexen Rabit, Rams
Second Team
Mitchell Neuert, Toronto
Lukas Kaufman, Queen’s
Michael Rowsell, RMC
Tyrus Cuculick, Nipissing
Saad Shaikh, Rams
Cole Duncanson, Queen’s
Daniel Tudor, Toronto
All-Rookies
Jacob Walker, Rams
Cole Duncanson, Queen’s
Jasraj Nijjar, York
Hunter Arulpragasam, Toronto
Thomas Wrigley, Nipissing
Lucas Yang, Rams
Adam Reid, RMC