Griffins head into new season with optimism, goal of making the playoffs

Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics

EDMONTON – With a goal of becoming the first team in MacEwan men’s volleyball history to make the Canada West playoffs, the Griffins are bursting with optimism as they get set to kick off the 2023-24 campaign this weekend in Calgary.

Buoyed by a win over UFV in their final preseason game on Sept. 30, the squad is feeling charged and ready to challenge all comers in the toughest conference in Canada.

They kick off the season in Calgary on Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m., both Canada West TV).

“It’s a really exciting feeling that we have aspirations to go somewhere the program never has before,” said veteran middle blocker Jonah Karsten. “Getting the preseason win this year just helps that much more because we want to build on (our finish) last year. 

“We need to have a good start. I think just the preseason and success we had in Abbotsford really helps with that.”

Although they lost Sept. 29 to UFV (3-1), they rebounded to beat the Cascades 3-1 the next night and because the teams were playing for the ‘Anything But a Blue Team Cup’, they played a golden set for the title, which was won by MacEwan.

The Griffins were also sharpened by two tough tests against Thompson Rivers University Sept. 22-23 in Prince George, B.C.

“It was in front of a huge crowd, which was very important for us to play in front of that many people,” said Karsten. “They beat us, but we had a very close match on the Saturday.”

Karsten is one of four members of the Griffins’ leadership group in 2023-24, joining Alexander Lyndon, Daniel Hebert, and Mitchel Gorman.

“Together with Pops (head coach Brad Poplawski), we work together to decide how we’re going to keep everyone accountable and how we’re going to create that tight bond between the guys,” he said. “Overall, we want to lead by example as much as possible.

“Words are important. They have their place, but most of all, just leading by example, and then understanding it’s anyone on the team’s role to lead as well. Anyone has the capacity to be a leader, so it’s not just us four.”

The leadership group is among 15 returning players, while four newcomers have injected an important element that will help the team’s success.

“Our rookies are extremely receptive to feedback and criticism, making them super-fast learners,” said Hebert. “They’re definitely getting the hang of the U SPORTS court and feel a lot faster than a lot of us older guys did, so that’s nice to see. 

“They came into the gym some of the strongest guys on our team. Seeing how determined they are in the gym is amazing.”

MacEwan will host Saskatchewan for their home-opening weekend Oct. 27 (7:30 p.m.) and Oct. 28 (4:30 p.m., both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).

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“I think as a team we have a pretty solid goal of making playoffs,” said Hebert. “We know we lost a lot of pieces, but working hard in practices and pushing ourselves to the limits has become second nature for a lot of the guys. 

“We know it’s not going to be an easy task … but it’s definitely our big goal. We all have a common drive and motivation.”