The Manitoba Bison men's volleyball team continues to a build a young nucleus as they announce two recruits for the upcoming 2009-10 season. One player comes from the Oakridge Secondary School and the other is a red-shirt from NCAA Division I University of California (UC) Irvine. Bisons head coach Garth Pischke is pleased to announce the commitment of T.J. Sanders and Chris Osborn to the Bison program for the upcoming season.
T.J. Sanders, 17, has completed a successful final season at Oakridge Secondary School in London, ON. The 6'3”, 170 lbs setter was part of the Western Ontario Secondary School Athletic Association (WOSSAA) Volleyball Champion and Thames Valley Region Athletic Association (TVRAA) 'AAA' Senior Boys Champion in 2008-09 season. In the 2007-08 season, Sanders was captain of the team that not only won TVRAA and WOSSAA Championship but also included capturing the Ontario Federation of School Athletic Associations (OFSAA) Championship. Sanders was selected to the Under-18 Ontario Provincial Volleyball Team, U-18 High Performance Centre and part of the U-18 National Team Challenge Cup silver medalist in 2008.
The Winnipeg native has also earned several volleyball awards including the 2007-08 Forest City Award of Excellence, Fanshawe College Tournament MVP and Canadian National U17 MVP while in the 2008-09 season, Sanders was Fanshawe College Tournament MVP, Clarke Road Tournament All Star and recognized as Al Coulter Award - Mr. Volleyball TVRAA award winner. The accomplished player also plays beach volleyball and was fifth in U-18 Provincial, played in U-18 Canada Summer Games and ninth in U-18 Canadian National in the 2008-09 season. His sister is Samantha who currently attends Cape Breton University and plays as a setter on the women's volleyball team while his father Greg is a graduate of the University of Manitoba Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation Studies and the Faculty of Education.
Pischke said, “I am very excited to get T.J. back to the city of Winnipeg. He is an excellent athlete, very quick, with exceptional delivery of the volleyball. This team is an excellent fit for T.J. as we have a lot of talent and a lot of youth with an opportunity to grow together!”
Chris Osborn, 22, was a red-shirt for UC Irvine for volleyball in the 2006-07 season. The 6'8', 220 lbs. middle/left side hitter was recruited to UC Irvine to play basketball and did play in five games early in the 2006-07 season. The Scottsdale, AZ native played high school basketball for Scottsdale Christian Academy and has a spike touch close to 12 feet.
Osborn parents are Jim and Christy and his uncle Dewayne played for the Bisons for four seasons (1983-87) and was honoured as two-time First Team All-Canadian and four-time CIAU Medalist, including two gold medals.
Pischke commented, “What Chris lacks in volleyball experience he makes up for in athletic ability. It will be a fun journey watching this athlete develop into a premier volleyball athlete.”
