Men’s volleyball team expects successful season
Sade Ogungbemi, CONTRIBUTOR
Red River College’s men’s volleyball team has one goal this year.
“I expect nothing less than taking the championship,” said the head coach Erik Hasen.
Hasen is confident his new team will be able to bring home the banner. He has three returning players and 10 new faces, who he thinks will add freshness to the team.
Last season, they came up short in the finals.
The Rebels came from behind to win the semi-finals in five sets, but this tired the team out for the finals, Hasen said.
“It was one of the hardest semi-finals games that I have ever been a part of,” he said.
The team already has 10 practices under their belt, and their on-court chemistry is slowly coming together, said Hasen. He takes the team through a series of drills each practice and has extra drills for the ones who don’t perform up to his standards.
“I’m looking for a dynamic and balanced team with lots of energy, and I think I have that with this team.” said Hasen.
Veteran player Jason Miller is eager to see how the team will do this season. “Who knows what will happen? It’s exciting,” he said.
With the new set of players, they do have a couple shortcomings, said Miller. “We’re pretty short this year so we’re going to have to work on being more defensive,” Miller said.
The new roster has a strong tradition to uphold. RRC’s men’s team has been in the finals for seven straight years, capturing gold in four of those games.
Having a big crowd out to their games always helps them play better, said Hasen.
The Rebels will look for their first win of the season at home on Oct. 19. They’ll take on Providence College at 7:30 p.m. in the north gym at the Notre Dame Campus.
For a complete schedule, visit blogs. rrc.ca/rebels/sports/mens-volleyball/schedule/. For updates on the Rebels’ season, follow @RRCRebels on Twitter.