MVB: A battle of excellence to take over Langley

Brian Swane, special to CW

Officially, the men’s volleyball competition taking place in Langley, B.C., this weekend is known as the Canada West Final Four.

But it could just as easily be called the Tournament of Champions, given the incredible resumes of four teams competing at the Langley Events Centre.

On Friday, the host Trinity Western Spartans will grapple with the Brandon Bobcats at 6 p.m. PST, followed by a meeting between out-of-province provincial rivals Alberta Golden Bears and Calgary Dinos at 8 p.m. PST. Saturday’s schedule will see the semi-final victors battle for gold at 6 p.m. PST, preceded by the bronze medal match.

No matter which squad emerges with the Costa Chrysanthou Trophy in its possession, that team will have a hard time making room in its award case. After all, between them, the quartet of semi-finalists have won every Canada West men’s volleyball championship since 2004.

Over that span of 16 postseasons, Alberta’s captured seven titles, Brandon’s won two, Calgary got one, and the Spartans have six, including four of the last five.

They should get a trophy of some sort just for making it this far. Canada West’s unique playoff format for 2022 began two weeks ago with 12 teams competing in three pools; from which the field was reduced to six teams that competed in two pools last week. The teams that advanced to the Final Four have already played five postseason matches, with two more to come.

In addition to the conference championship, the teams also have an opportunity this weekend to qualify for the U Sports Men’s Volleyball Championship, which is being hosted by the University of Winnipeg at Investors Group Athletic Centre, March 25 -27. All four Canada West semi-finalists are currently ranked in the U Sports Top 10.

Catch all the action from the Canada West men’s volleyball Final Four streaming live on CWTV presented by Co-op. 

Alberta Golden Bears

(15-3 regular season, 5-0 playoffs)

How They Got Here: finished first in Pool E

Player to Watch: Fifth-year setter Max Elgert (Canada West First Team All-Star; 10.79 assists per set, 0.31 service aces per set)

Key Stat: Alberta has played 25 matches combined in the regular season and playoffs, with just one lasting the full five sets, while 14 of the Bears’ 20 wins have come in straight sets..

Brandon Bobcats

(9-9 regular season, 3-2 playoffs)

How They Got Here: finished second in Pool E

Player to Watch: First-year middle Philipp Lauter (CW Rookie of the Year, CW First Team All-Star, Canada West All-Rookie Team; 0.51 service aces per set, .380 hitting percentage)

Key Stat: Brandon is the most recent team to both win a Canada West playoff match (Game 2 of 2020 semi-final) and win postseason round (2019 Canada West final) against Trinity Western.

Calgary Dinos

(13-5 regular season, 3-2 playoffs)

How They Got Here: finished second in Pool D

Player to Watch: Fifth-year outside Hamish Hazelden (Canada West First Team All-Star; 4.12 kills per set, .351 hitting percentage)

Key Stat: The Dinos are the only team to defeat Alberta in 2021-22, going 3-3 during the regular season against the Bears, who are 17-0 against all other Canada West teams in the regular season and playoffs.

Trinity Western Spartans

(15-1 regular season, 5-0 playoffs)

How They Got Here: finished first in Pool D

Player to Watch: Third-year outside Brodie Hofer (Canada West First-Team All-Star; 4.35 kills per set, .398 hitting percentage)

Key Stat: Trinity Western led Canada West with a .330 hitting percentage during the regular season, and now ranks first in hitting for the playoffs with an incredible .443 percentage.

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