Wesmen ruled Canadian volleyball in early 70s
Winnipeg's men's team won four consecutive national titles and beat NCAA's best along the way
EDMONTON – It was a string of dominance that transcended borders.
The Winnipeg Wesmen men's volleyball teams of the early 1970s were simply untouchable, winning four consecutive national titles between 1971 and 1974, while downing NCAA powers along the way.
Not only was Winnipeg the nation's top team, they won emphatically at the national tournament, needing the minimum number of sets in 1971 and 1972.
While those two seasons were impressive, perhaps the best season in the Wesmen's string of success came in 1973 when they won a third straight national title, but also showed they were arguably the best university team in North America.
That season, the Wesmen went 6-2 against NCAA opponents at a tournament in Los Angeles, including a win over the top-ranked team in the NCAA, the host UCLA Bruins.
To read more about Winnipeg's dynasty, which has the honour of being the first volleyball inductee in the CW Hall of Fame, click here.
ABOUT THE CANADA WEST HALL OF FAME
For the last century, organized university sport has been a central part of the student experience at institutions across Western Canada. Beginning with the University of Manitoba capturing the first Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union (WCIAU) men's hockey banner in 1919-20, student-athletes have been competing to reach their full potential in sport and the classroom, while enriching campus life.
To commemorate 100 years of university sport across Western Canada, the Canada West Hall of Fame was created in the spring of 2019, with the first induction class set to be unveiled throughout the 2019-20 season.
VISIT: CanadaWestHallofFame.org