CALGARY – Two college all-Canadians and player of the year nominees along with three members of the CCAA national champion Mount Royal Cougars headline the University of Calgary's 2008-09 men's volleyball recruiting class, unveiled by Dinos head coach Rod Durrant Wednesday.
Chris Hoag, son of national team coach Glenn Hoag, chose Calgary following a standout career at Cégep de Sherbrooke. He was named the MVP of the Quebec college league in 2007-08 and landed on the CCAA all-Canadian team.
Born in Ottawa, Hoag has lived most of his life in Quebec and throughout Europe, beginning high school in Paris before graduating in Sherbrooke and enrolling in Cégep. Under CIS eligibility rules, which do not count the two seasons he spent at Cégep, the 19-year-old Hoag will join the Dinos as a freshman.
“Chris joins us with tremendous volleyball experience,” said Durrant. “He is a 6'4” left side player who is very dynamic and has fantastic volleyball sense. We think Chris is a great fit for our program and system and we are truly excited to have him in a Dinos uniform.”
Fellow all-Canadian Allen Meek of the Mount Royal Cougars will also join the Dinos this fall, bringing with him two teammates from his national championship team. Meek was the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference player of the year, finishing second in kills per set with 3.6, and led the Cougars to a perfect national tournament in Toronto.
He was named the championship MVP following Mt. Royal's 3-0 defeat of UBC-Okanagan in the national final, where he racked up a dozen kills. He then received the honour of ACAC athlete of the year across all sports, the second straight Cougar to win the award after Jeff Price, who now starts at point guard for the Dinos basketball team. Meek will enter his third year of eligibility this fall.
Joining Meek in the transfer up Crowchild Trail are middle Pat Lenaour and setter-turned-libero Tom Porta. Lenaour, a native of Lethbridge, spent three seasons with the Cougars and will solidify the middle position with the Dinos. He will study sociology in the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Porta started his collegiate career in his hometown with Grande Prairie College before heading south to join Mount Royal for two seasons. Joining the Dinos for his fourth year of eligibility, he will make the transition to the libero spot from his setting position while continuing his studies toward becoming a teacher.
The final three recruits are also college transfers. Setter Aaron Cyr left Selkirk Composite High School in Manitoba to join the Medicine Hat College Rattlers, where he spent two seasons and was quickly promoted to team captain. Voted the team's MVP for 2007-08, he will provide depth to the setting position behind CIS all-rookie teamer Ciaran McGovern.
Curtis James is a Calgary native and a second-generation Dino, following in the footsteps of both his father Al, who played for the Dinos in the 1960s, and sister Christie, who won a national championship with the Dinos women in 2004. A graduate of the Canuck Volleyball Club in Calgary, the 6'4” left side spent two seasons at MacEwan College in Edmonton before electing to join his hometown Dinos.
College of the Rockies left side Blake Giles is the final recruit to join the Dinos for 2008-09. A 6'0” native of Creston, B.C., Giles spent three years with the Avalanche in Cranbrook while studying human kinetics, which he will continue this fall when he enters the Faculty of Kinesiology.
“Allen, Tom and Pat are great additions to our team,” Durrant said. “Winning a national championship at MRC last season was a great accomplishment for them. All three will have the opportunity to contribute next year with us.
“We believe Aaron, Curtis and Blake have all proven to be solid players in the CCAA, and they too will be able to help this program improve and grow.”
The seven players will join nine returnees from the 2007-08 team, which returned to the Canada West playoffs for the first time since 2003. Sophomores McGovern and Graham Vigrass (middle) were both named to the junior national team, while second team conference all-star Omar Langford will also return for the Dinos this fall.
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2008-09 Dinos Men's Volleyball Recruiting Class
Pos. Player Hometown Yr. Last Team
S Aaron Cyr St. Andrews, Man. 3 Medicine Hat College
L Blake Giles Creston, B.C. 4 College of the Rockies
LS Christopher Hoag Sherbrooke, Que. 1 Cégep de Sherbrooke
LS Curtis James Calgary, Alta. 3 MacEwan College
M Pat Lenaour Lethbridge, Alta. 4 Mount Royal College
RS Allen Meek Sherwood Park, Alta. 3 Mount Royal College
L Tom Porta Grande Prairie, Alta. 3 Mount Royal College
