Evan Daum, Canada West Communications
Highlights:
- Canada West’s 2017-18 men’s volleyball award winners were announced Tuesday
- Trinity Western Spartan Adam Schriemer is the CW Player of the Year
- Winnipeg’s Logan Brennan (Student-Athlete Community Service) and Larry McKay (Coach of the Year), along with Saskatchewan’s Dylan Mortensen (Rookie of the Year) are the other award winners
- TWU and Alberta go head-to-head this Saturday in the CW Championship Game (8 p.m. PST), while Winnipeg and UBC clash for bronze and a trip to nationals on Friday (7 p.m. PST)
EDMONTON – For the second consecutive season and third time in four years, a Trinity Western Spartan has been named the Canada West Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year.
Setter Adam Schriemer has claimed the 2017-18 award, following in the footsteps of Ryan Sclater, who took home the honour a season ago during the Spartans CW and U SPORTS title runs.
Schriemer concluded his five-year career fifth on the conference all-time assists list with 3,448. He posted 920 assists this season, while guiding the TWU offence to a conference-leading .311 hitting percentage.
Trinity Western will have a chance to win their third consecutive CW banner this Saturday when they host the Alberta Golden Bears in the CW Men’s Volleyball Championship Game in Langley (8 p.m. PST).
Along with Schriemer, major award winners Logan Brennan (Student-Athlete Community Service) and Larry McKay (Coach of the Year) of Winnipeg will be in action this weekend when the Wesmen take on the UBC Thunderbirds in the CW bronze medal game (Friday, March 9 at 7 p.m. PST). The Wemsen and T-Birds are looking to claim the conference’s third berth to nationals.
Rounding out the major award winners announced Tuesday is Saskatchewan’s Dylan Mortensen as CW Rookie of the Year, after leading the Huskies averaging 3.36 kills per set – good for sixth in the conference.
All four Canada West major award winners now move forward as the conference nominees for the U SPORTS awards, which will be handed out as part of the national tournament slated for March 15-18 at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ont.
You can catch both the conference title game and the bronze medal match this weekend by tuning into the official streaming home of every conference volleyball game, Canada West TV.
NOTE: The CW awards were selected by the conference’s 13 men’s volleyball head coaches.
2017-18 CW MEN’S VOLLEYBALL AWARDS
S – Adam Schriemer, Trinity Western Spartans
5th-year
Winnipeg, Man.
Communications
2017-18 CW regular season: 24 GP / 10.57 assists per set / 1.38 digs per set / 16 aces
Adam Schriemer is the latest Trinity Western Spartan to be named the Canada West Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year, as the fifth-year captured the honour after finishing his career with 3,448 assists – the fifth most all-time in CW.
The Winnipeg, Man. product is the second straight Spartan to earn the conference’s top honour, following in the footsteps of Ryan Sclater, who won last season. Schriemer is the fifth TWU player overall to win the award, joining Sclater (2016-17), Nick Bel Bianco (2014-15), Ben Ball (2011-12), and Josh Howatson (2006-07).
Schriemer posted 920 assists this season for the first-place Spartans, who went 22-2, as Schriemer guided the TWU offence to a conference-leading .311 hitting percentage.
“Adam is the straw that stirs our drink, he is our motor that drives the top-rated offence in U SPORTS and he has done it with largely a new lineup from the last two championships. The fact the Canada West coaches recognize that and honoured Adam with this award reflects the impact Adam makes our team’s success this season. I’m so proud of Adam for the player and more importantly the man he has become over these past 5 years. This is a great individual award to receive as he leaves the program. But he will be the first to say that he is just doing his job to make our team better and ultimately that is why he is such a special player.” – Ben Josephson, TWU head coach.
OH – Dylan Mortensen, Saskatchewan Huskies
1st-year
Swift Current, Sask.
Business
2017-18 CW regular season: 24 GP / 3.36 kills per set / 3.8 points per set / 24 aces
Dylan Mortensen had a rookie season to remember. The 6-6 outside hitter from Swift Current, Sask., played in all 24 matches for the Huskies in 2017-18, starting in 89 sets.
He led the Huskies in kills with 299, averaging 3.36 per set, which was good for sixth in the conference. He added 116 digs, 24 service aces and 32 blocks.
Saskatchewan finished the Canada West season 10-14 and outside the postseason.
Mortensen is the second Huskie to win the award in the last three seasons, as CJ Gavlas claimed the honour back in 2015-16.
"Dylan is a very worthy recipient of the Canada West Rookie of the Year. He had an outstanding season leading our team and his offensive numbers in the Canada West conference speak for themselves. This was a very strong year of rookie performances in Canada West and being named one of the best is a testament to the special season he had. From a coach’s perspective, it is not surprising. He is a driven, goal-orientated student-athlete and his ceiling is limitless." – Brian Gavlas, Saskatchewan head coach.
LIB – Logan Brennan, Winnipeg Wesmen
5th-year
Springbank, Alta.
Kinesiology & Applied Health
2017-18 CW regular season: 24 GP / 2.31 digs per set / 0.85 assists per set
Second-team all-star Logan Breann is the Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner.
A four-year Academic All-Canadian, the Kinesiology & Applied Health student has been on the dean’s honour list every year since enrolling at the University of Winnipeg and has been among the school’s Rhodes Scholar candidates.
The versatile veteran played primarily as a libero this season, but has also seen time as an outside hitter for the Wesmen, who finished fifth in the CW regular season standings with a 15-9 record.
In terms of volunteer activities, Brennan has given his time to several initiatives in Winnipeg, and back home in the Calgary area.
Among the causes closest to Brennan’s heart is the Banded Peak Challenge. The event raises funds for Easter Seals Alberta’s Camp Horizon. At Camp Horizon, children with disabilities and medical conditions get a chance to explore the great outdoors, learn new skills, traverse tree-top ropes courses, swing on a giant swing, rock climb, and challenge themselves in ways they never imagined possible. Brennan and his family have been involved with the event for more than a decade.
“He’s an exceptional young man that has amassed an academic record second to none, has an outside academic community service record that is so length it’s incredible, the things he’s done in his spare time. I simply admire the young man and am grateful to have had him on our team.” – Larry McKay, Winnipeg head coach.
Larry McKay, Winnipeg Wesmen
2017-18 CW regular record: 15-9 (5th in Canada West)
Longtime coach of the Winnipeg Wesmen Larry McKay is the Canada West Coach of the Year for the third time in his career after previously winning the award in 2001-02 and 2007-08.
Over 29 seasons at the helm of the Wesmen, the two-time national champion has enjoyed plenty of success at both at the conference level and nationally. This season he navigated Winnipeg to a 15-9 regular season record to finish fifth in the conference.
A member of the Manitoba Volleyball Association Hall of Fame, McKay is now looking for his third national coach of the year award after previously winning in 1993 and 2002.
“How lucky we are at the University of Winnipeg to have a coach with the vision, instincts and abilities of Larry McKay. Having been around university sport for 38 years, I have seen hundreds of leaders and I can honestly say Larry is one of the finest I’ve had the pleasure to meet or work alongside.” – Dave Crook, Winnipeg Athletic Director.