As the 2022-23 Canada West women's volleyball regular season gets set to begin tomorrow, there's no denying the hype surrounding Manitoba's roster. It's a united core that, in the words of veteran head coach Ken Bentley, has "leveled up."

All-Rookie member Katreena Bentley, who was second in the conference last year with 579 assists, is back, as is her long-time best friend Julia Arnold (fifth in the conference with 207 digs last year), one of the most competitive and consistent players in the conference at libero. 

Other familiar faces like Light Uchechukwu, another former All-Rookie who was in the top 20 in points per set in 2021-222 (3.2), as well as Ella Gray (3.0 points per set as a rookie) and Andi Almonte (2.0 points per set) are part of a deep attacking group that can play all six rows effectively. 

In the middle, players like Brenna Bedosky, Eve Catojo and Chloe Ellerbrock have all taken the next steps as sophomores, while standout rookies like Raya Surinx – the top volleyball player in her class and one of the best hitters in her age group in Canada – and many others, have fit in seamlessly. 
 
Moving the starting blocks ahead
On the strength of many of these players, Manitoba won their last three games of the 2021-22 campaign by a combined score of 9-1, and advanced to the post-season in a year where COVID effected travel and the amount of teams that each school could face. 

At the end of the year, knowing that his roster would remain largely intact, Bentley and the squad went to work, busting their butt in the summer in order to stay mentally and physically ready for the upcoming season, which included a full travel schedule for the first time since 2019-20. 

"From my viewpoint, there was a recognition that we just needed to do more work. We couldn't take that much time off from the ball, especially coming out of the pandemic and being online all year long," Bentley said. 

"We missed individual training, we missed the component that we would normally put more time into. We just didn't do it, because it was so difficult. If we wanted to move the needle, we had to get in and do some more work. It moved the starting blocks further ahead for us, which was good."
 

"We had people that came and did summer training with our team, but we also had people come to our team in the fall from playing Canada Summer Games, Light with the [Canadian National] NextGen team, Raya also had national team experience with the U21 team," added Katreena. 

"I think everyone's volleyball experience cumulatively over the summer came together. Putting all those pieces together really helped. No one got a break all summer. Even Ella was playing volleyball all summer in BC. There wasn't one person who really took time off."

According to Arnold, the training itself wasn't super intense, it simply offered the ability to work on consistency in key areas. 

"Just getting reps in over the summer was really important, especially in areas like passing. Passing is really tough, and coming fresh off of two or three months off, it can be really hard to become a good passer again really quickly. I think in areas like that, it's been really helpful. We passed really well in the pre-season."
 
Even footing
Speaking of the pre-season, the Bisons were busy. They played in 13 tune-up games from September 23 all the way to October 8th, going 12-1 while losing just nine sets. 

Perhaps their biggest challenge came on a trip to Quebec, where they faced off against stiff tests in Sherbrooke and Montreal to round out their schedule. The squad played in four games over the span of three days, including two in the same day to end off the gruelling trip (Montreal at 10 am, Sherbrooke at 6 pm). 

"It's very representative of league. If you're good enough to win one night, then the next night is always tougher. I think it's a true reflection of what we face in this conference. I thought it was good to see that and recognize that," said Bentley.

"I think we played enough pre-season compared to other teams in our conference, that put us on a more even footing when we start league. Going to Montreal and Sherbrooke was a really critical weekend for us. We played really good teams, we got way out of our comfort zone. There were no free points out there. Every point we scored was earned. It's the stretch that we needed for this team."

Teams in the RSEQ are notorious for their defensive abilities, and have a knack for digging balls they have no business getting to. The Bisons saw this all weekend long, but they were just as good in that area, something Bentley was particularly impressed by. 

"I did forewarn the group before we got there that it would take more than one swing to get a ball to the floor. That proved to be entirely true. It was good, because there were very few free points that whole weekend in four matches," he said. 

"It was just really good for our own self-discipline to not get rattled and to just say persistent and know that eventually they won't dig everything. We also played some great defence too. We didn't give up one thing to any of those teams defensively. I thought we were great defensively, and that's why we ended up winning three of four of those matches. It was great that way."

Grinding out five-setters was also huge for the team's mental resolve, as they lost their only game of the pre-season in five to Montreal, but rallied in the second game of the evening against Sherbrooke, once again in a five-setter. 

"That game was really important, because it was our second five-setter of the day and it was our 13th pre-season match after back-to-back-to-back weekends," said Katreena. "Finding a way to get out of that, even when we were tired, it really said something about what we're trying to do this season and how we want the season to go."
 

"I think it was important for this team that we have right now, just coming off of last year and finding our feet this year, especially with Raya in the lineup and newer people in the lineup, but also just to get ready for the workload that's going to come, because last year we didn't have a full season," added Arnold. 

"Ken's goal was oh my god, you guys are going to be so tired when pre-season is done, but you only have two games a weekend. Light work." 

To summarize, as the team opens their regular season schedule, there's no doubt they're ready.

"I think we have a pretty complete team in every position, but more importantly I think we have a really good team in terms of chemistry and character and work ethic and a really clear understanding of what it takes to compete at a high level and what it takes every day to do it," said Bentley. 
"Their priorities are in order, and it's reflected in how they train and in how they play."