Gaels star Erik Siksna on his time at Queen’s, on and off the court, and hosting the U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship

Erik Siksna has been an asset to the Queen’s Men’s Volleyball program since his start with the team in 2019. Through his five years with the team, he has won may awards, including Rookie of the Year, several First Team All-Canadians, as well as many Players of the Week.

Siksna has a long history with sports. Through elementary school, he played hockey and basketball. Eventually he made the switch from basketball to volleyball and has stuck with it ever since.

“After a few years got busy and at that point I had developed my love for volleyball and saw myself having a future in it. So I stuck with volleyball and had a lot of fun,” Siksna said.

Midway through high school, Siksna realized that he wanted to pursue playing volleyball at the university level. His recruiting process started in grade 11, and Queen’s was instantly a front runner.

“I liked the school itself, the athletics, the academics, and the volleyball program in particular. I really liked [Queen’s Men’s Volleyball Head Coach] Gabe [deGroot] and everything he’s done for the program, so it really checked all the boxes and made that decision pretty easy. I might not have signed till later on, but pretty early on I had a feeling that Queen’s was the one.”

Siksna played his first season with Queen’s in 2019-20. Even as a rookie, he experienced success, both on an individual level and as a team. That season Siksna was named OUA and U SPORTS Rookie of the Year. The team also won OUA gold.

“It was a really great experience to come in and be part of such a competitive team. It was phenomenal. It was a great learning experience to get to play with the older, experienced guys who had already won in the past, and to go through that and see what its like and what it takes to win in that first year.”

“I think my favourite memory still has to be winning the OUA Championship in first year. I think those couple days still stick with me now. Just the sheer amount of joy to do that with some of your best friends,” he added.

After his rookie year, COVID hit and Siksna had the chance to train in the National Excellence Program with Volleyball Canada. This program brings together the best players and coaches in Canada with the goal of preparing athletes to compete at the highest levels of the sport.

“That was pivotal in my own development. To not only be able to keep training but also be able to train with some of the best players and coaches across Canada was huge. When I came back to Queen’s that year after, I think my confidence, being a little bit older, having a little bit more experience, and getting all that training in, I think that was huge for me,” he said.

Siksna’s success has not just been limited to the courts; he also maintains a strong focus on academics. In his third year, he was awarded Academic All-Canadian Top 8 in honour of his strong commitment to athletics.

“One thing I’ve always said is the importance of compartmentalizing, where you basically stay present in what you’re doing. So, when you’re doing school, you’re 100 per cent focused on school, and then on the volleyball court being 100 per cent focused on volleyball. I think keeping that mindset has really helped me stay present in the moment and get the most out of what I’m doing.”

Community involvement is also important to Siksna. He finds time to coach high school volleyball and work as a Gaels Tutor, while balancing academics and athletics.

“It is such a great community we have here at Queen’s, especially coming up in early years seeing what the community did for me. It just feels good to give back and also just to connect with people in that community.”

While this year is Siksna’s last with Queen’s Men’s Volleyball, the team has found plenty of success—they are currently ranked No. 5 in U SPORTS and head into the OUA Playoffs as the No. 2 seed.

The team’s culture—which has been developed on and off the courts—helped propel them to victory this season.

“I think our team has historically prided themselves on having a lot of fun and I think this year we’ve really stuck with that. I think being able to know that you’re playing with some of your best friends and brothers is a huge feeling and reassurance when you’re going through tough period of the season,” Siksna said.

The team also has a focus on an aggressive style of play, aiming to end points quickly instead of playing continuation volleyball.

“We set out to be a really aggressive team in all aspects of the game and I think having that aggressive, free mindset and being willing to take risks worked out well for us. Even on the mental side of the game, that’s been really big for us just letting us take risk and be aggressive.”

Looking ahead, the team has their eyes set on the OUA Playoffs and Nationals. They plan on refining their style of play as well as focusing on the tactical side of the game.  

The team is looking forward to playing for the National Championship on home court.

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Queen’s will welcome the best university men’s volleyball teams in the country to the Athletics and Recreation Centre (ARC) for the 2024 U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship from Thursday, March 14 to Sunday, March 17.

Tournament Passes are on sale now on the Queen’s Gaels Tickets Website.

“To simultaneously be in my last year and to be hosting is going to be really special and I’m super excited. There’s no better place to play than at the ARC, so to be able to do that while also competing for a national championship will be awesome.”

Siksna, along with the rest of his teammates, are excited for the great atmosphere that comes along with the home court advantage.

“It’s going to be a great environment. I think building some school spirit like that is great. I know that whenever I get to go to other sports games and especially national championships, its always such a great environment and to be able to root for your school and see them succeed is a really cool feeling. It would be great to get everyone out,” he said.

For more information on the U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship, check out the Tournament Central Page.