Seawolves Volleyball Teams Head to Halifax for Championships

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Some look at making the playoffs as the accomplishment of their season’s goal. Some look at making the playoffs as no big deal, it was expected. However, neither applies to the women’s and men’s Seawolves volleyball teams: They are just excited.

This weekend, the UNB Saint John Seawolves volleyball teams head to Halifax, Nova Scotia to compete in the 2014-15 ACAA Volleyball Championships, hosted by Mount Saint Vincent University.

The playoffs are a familiar scene for the Seawolves, who are usually annual participants.

Talking with players on both women’s and men’s teams, one cannot help catching the feeling that they are excited, and for good reason – they are confident.

Veteran player Thomas Harris said the beginning of the year was slow because the veterans and rookies needed to create chemistry, but now he says, “We are ready.”

The men’s Seawolves team enters the playoffs in second place with a 10-5 season record.ACAAVOLLEYBALLCHAMPIONSHIPS201415

They will face-off in the semi-finals against a 5-10 Holland College Hurricanes who they will need to put to rest before taking on the Saint Thomas Tommies who will be the likely opponent in the finals.

Jacob McLean, a rookie player, says that their seeding entering into the playoffs is a non-factor: “We just have to play how we know we can and we will come out on top. We have to play Holland [College] first, but if we play Seawolves volleyball I believe we will be meeting STU [Saint Thomas] in the finals.”

The women’s Seawolves, after being defeated in the finals last year against this year’s host team, are looking to corral last year’s experience and move on.

Second year player Indigo Clement acknowledged that while some top players have graduated, it does not necessarily hinder their chances of winning this year.

“We gained even more talent this year and everyone has really stepped forward. If everyone is on their game this weekend, I think we have a really good chance of winning!”

The women head into the playoffs in the third seed (13-8), and need to beat last year’s finals nemesis, the MSVU Mystics in the semi-finals, in what arguably will be their toughest game of the weekend, in order to have a crack at competing at nationals.

Action for the Seawolves kicks off tomorrow, as the women play MSVU at 11:00am and the men play Holland College at 7:00pm. All Seawolves action can be watched live online for free at www.acaatv.ca

Emily is in her fourth year of Political Science. She loves studying and academics which follows into her research work. She's a stern black coffee drinker and is a proud Acadienne. When she's not working or doing school work, you can find Emily listening to 70s music on vinyl and watching Parks and Recreation. If you ask her about parliamentary institutions, she won't stop talking.