The Manitoba Bisons men's volleyball team announces three co-captains for the 2014-15 Canada West conference season.
Middle hitter Ken Rooney, left side hitter Kevin Falconer and left side hitter Adam DeJonckheere are the captains for the Bison men's volleyball team. Rooney and Falconer are repeat captains as they wore the 'C' last season while DeJonckheere (pronounced: De-unk-er) is a first time captain with Manitoba.
Bison men's volleyball head coach Garth Pischke, in his 33rd season at the helm, stated, "The captains were elected by the players and they choose guys that will communicate with me during the matches. All three are solid leaders on and off the court."
Rooney, 20, enters his third year with the Bisons after solid sophomore season during the 2013-14 campaign. In his second year at Manitoba, Rooney was seventh in conference blocks at 1.07 per set (91 blocks/85 sets) while eighth in Canada West hitting percentage at .390. The Winnipeg native was fourth on the team with 161 kills while playing in 85 of 89 conference regular season sets. The 6'8", 215 lbs. player was 2012-13 Canada West Rookie of the Year plus CIS All-Rookie Team.
Falconer, 20, begins his third season with the Herd. The Winnipeg native was third on the team with 194 kills and second with 20 service aces in his second season. In addition, the 6'3", 210 lbs. player was fifth on the squad with 117 digs, sixth with 29 overall blocks and third with 229.0 points while playing in all 89 conference regular season sets.
DeJonckheere, 18 (turns 19 in Dec. 2014), starts his second season with Manitoba. In his first year at Manitoba, he was selected to the 2013-14 CIS and Canada West Men's Volleyball All-Rookie Team. The Winnipeg native was second on the team in kills with 288, hitting percentage at .255 (plus T-22nd in CIS) and points with 320.5 points plus third on the team with 16 service aces and fourth on the squad with 141 digs (34th in CIS) while playing in all 89 conference regular season sets during his rookie season.
Bison Notes: The conference season opens for the Bisons at home versus the Calgary Dinos on Thursday, October 9. The women play at 6 p.m. CT while the men at 8 p.m. CT at the Investors Group Athletic Centre (U of Manitoba campus).
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2014-15 Bison Men's Volleyball Canada West Preview
General Info
Team: Manitoba Bisons Name of Venue: Investors Group Athletic Centre
Head coach: Garth Pischke/33rd year Conference: Canada West
Quick Facts
2014 Canada West Pre-season coaches' poll rank: #9
2013-14 Canada West Standings finish: 10-12, 8th place overall in Canada West
2014 Canada West Playoff: Did not qualify for post-season
2014 CIS Nationals Placing: Did not qualified for CIS Nationals
Last Canada West Title: 2002-03 season
Last CIS Title: 2002-03 season
Key returnees: Ken Rooney, Kevin Falconer, Adam DeJonckheere, Luke Herr, Josh Crellin, Devren Dear, Alex Strachan
Key additions: none
Key departures: none
2014-15 Preview: The Manitoba Bisons men's volleyball team returns the entire starting seven back for another season as well as the return of head coach Garth Pischke, after a year absence.
Last season, the team made numerous improvements and lost several close matches while defeating several ranked team while just missing the playoffs.
Pischke did not alter the core as he is excited of their growth throughout the 2012-13 season and believes they deserve another shot to reach another level in 2014-15. Pischke, enters his 33rd year at the helm of Manitoba, would love for this team to host playoffs and is energized to be back with the U of M program and to see where this team can progress during the tough Canada West schedule.
The returning seven are still young and include middle player and co-captain Ken Rooney (2012-13 Canada West Rookie of the Year), left side and co-captain Adam DeJonckheere (2013-14 Canada West All-Rookie Team) plus left-side and co-captain Kevin Falconer. In addition, setter Luke Herr, middle Josh Crellin, right side Devren Dear and libero Alex Strachan are all back and six of the seven starters are just in their third year while DeJonckheere only starts his second year.
Manitoba needs to the whole unit to play well as there is not a 'superstar' on the squad. Pischke is very impressed by the supportive atmosphere and positive attitude displayed by the roster during training camp and pre-season. He feels their speed and combination of power from the outside hitters will be strengths of this improving team.
In addition, this year will mark a momentous achievement for Pischke. He nears the all-time record for most overall wins by a men's volleyball coach. UCLA legend Al Cates completed his 50 year career with a 1,239-290 (.812) - which ranks first among all Division I volleyball coaches. Pischke begins the Canada West conference season with a win overall record of 1237-335 and should break this incredible record early this season.
The Bisons have grown over the last couple seasons and are ready to compete for a top playoff spot in another highly competitive conference.
