TORONTO – As a new volleyball season dawns in Ontario University Athletics (OUA), the TMU Bold men’s volleyball team has recruited a new roster and has been working tirelessly throughout the exhibition season to become the strongest group they can be.
Going into the first few months without many expectations, the team wants to work on themselves off the court before they shift their focus to strategies on the court.
“I think the start of the first month has been expectation-free because we have a pretty new team and a new lineup for sure. We graduated a lot of athletes from our starting lineup. So this first month has kind of been about getting our feet wet and setting the culture and the tone of the season,” said interim head coach, Niko Rukavina.
Rukavina, stepping in while Matthew Harris is away, has been working with the squad for the past six years.
“In my six years here, this is the best culture I’ve seen on the team in terms of that training and that work ethic,” said Rukavina. “So as a coach, that’s all I want to see. I want to see athletes working to get better and for the team to work to get better. So [I’ve] been very happy with that. I think that’ll be a point of focus for us moving forward,” he added.
Outside hitter Nicholas Hudson had a stellar year last season. He recorded 78 kills and 66 digs and was a pillar for the team both offensively and defensively.
Looking to top those stats isn’t his main priority though, as Hudson knows his goal and is focused on being a team player.
“It doesn’t really add pressure. I think I had one role last year, and that was kind of to put up a block. And when I do get set the ball, to be aggressive, and to put a pretty good serve in,” said Hudson. “As an older guy now, I’ve got to help the younger guys. My plan is to do better than those stats,” said Hudson.
Last season, the squad handed the top-ranked McMaster Marauders their first OUA loss. That home-court win for the Bold proved to themselves and the rest of the OUA teams that they weren’t a team to be taken lightly.
“I think one of the biggest takeaways with that McMaster win was that we want to be in our peak in February and March, and the first semester, October, November don’t matter as much as long as we’re building towards that playoff time of year,” said Rukavina.
The program graduated three of their starting players last year; middle Omari Young, setter Saad Shaikh, and libero Lhexen Rabit.
It won’t be easy to play without their expertise, but the team is ready to put their head down and work to secure the Forsyth Cup.
“They were definitely a really big, like, leadership portion of the team, for sure. So there’s going to have to be a few guys on the team to step up this year. We’re excited to see who that is,” said Hudson.
The team has been working on their team bonding and work ethic. They know what’s at stake throughout the year and ahead of the regular season, they’re trying out different strategies to make sure they’re ready for whatever is thrown at them.
“I think we’re playing really well. Especially, we’re trying all sorts of different lineups. So I think we all know we have a really deep team,” said Kai Higuchi, the team’s third-year aerospace engineering student.
The program is hoping to bring out bigger crowds to games this season to help establish themselves in the OUA.
“We want to have fans come out to the game. We want young athletes to come watch us play. We’re just trying to build the program up and I think we can kind of be more of an under-the-radar team at TMU this year where if we get some excitement in the gym, and we build on some wins…that could be a huge addition,” said the head coach.
The players are excited to start their season with a doubleheader weekend starting November 4. The blue and gold will take on the Windsor Lancers, looking to claim two back-to-back wins.
“It’s going to be exciting. An exciting, young team that’s fun to watch. Come out and support the boys. We’re going to give it a run this year for sure,” said Hudson.
“Don’t shirk the work. That’s our motto this year. So that’s, that’s all I got,” added Higuchi.
Action begins on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Mattamy Athletic Centre.
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