The Bison men's volleyball team is heading into the second week of the 2016-17 conference season with the home opener series against Regina from Nov. 4-5 at Investors Group Athletic Centre and pleased to announce the team captains for the 2016-17 season. Middle hitter Ken Rooney will be the team captain while left side hitter Kevin Falconer and left side hitter Adam DeJonckheere (pronounced: De-unk-er) will be the assistant captains for Manitoba this season.
Bison men's volleyball head coach Garth Pischke, in his 35th season at the helm, said, "Everything that Ken does on and off the court is phenomenal. He has been a leader throughout his five seasons and is a leading candidate for not only an All-Canadian season plus being the recipient of the outstanding student-athlete (Dale Iwanoczko Award). Kevin and Adam have also been part of the leadership group last year and are both leaders on and off the court."
Rooney, 22, is a captain for a fourth consecutive season playing in his fifth and final season with Manitoba. The Winnipeg native named 2015-16 Canada West men's volleyball Second Team All-Star (his second conference selection after being First Team All-Star in 2014-15). In the 2015-16 season with the Bisons, the 6'8", 220 lbs. middle was seventh in Canada West total blocks at 1.02 per set (88 blocks/86 sets) plus finished 19th in conference points (third on team) at 225.0 points while 20th in Canada West kills (third on the team) at 168. Rooney started and played in 23 of 24 conference matches and only missed three sets of the 89 overall Canada West sets played by the Bisons in the 2015-16 campaign.
Falconer, 22, starts his fifth season with the Herd and fourth as a captain. The Winnipeg native was fourth on the team with 160 kills and tied for second with 16 service aces in his fourth season. In addition, the 6'3", 210 lbs. player was fifth on the squad with 94 digs, fifth with 44 overall blocks and fourth on the team with 201.5 points while playing in 82 of 89 conference regular season sets.
DeJonckheere, 20 (turns 21 in Dec. 2015), begins his fourth season with Manitoba and three-time captain. In his third year at Manitoba, he was 14th in Canada West in kills at 278 and 15th in conference points with 314.5. The Winnipeg native was fourth on the team with 12 service aces, fourth with 115 digs and sixth with 41 total blocks while playing in 84 of 89 conference regular season sets during his junior season. The 6'3", 170 lbs. player was also the 2013-14 CIS and Canada West Men's Volleyball All-Rookie Team.
