CALGARY - The parity in Canada West men's volleyball is at a level unseen in years. Behind the No. 1 Alberta Golden Bears – who, at 12-0, remain the prohibitive favourite to win the national title on their home court in early March – sit six teams with designs on the three other spots at the CIS championships in Edmonton, and all six have a legitimate claim to be there.
The rapid growth of programs in Brandon and Thompson Rivers is a key factor in this parity to be sure, but the renaissance of one of Canada West's traditional powers has a familiar name sitting near the top of the conference standings – the Calgary Dinos.
Just two short years removed from a coaching change and back-to-back four-win seasons, the Dinos are back. Under the tutelage of Rod Durrant, who has to be considered a strong candidate for coach-of-the-year honours, the Dinos have reached nine wins at the 12-match mark of the season, guaranteeing them their first .500+ record since 2000-01. Already ahead of last season's pace of 8-10, which got them back into the playoffs after a four-year absence, Calgary is once again circled on the schedule by opposition teams as a tough squad to play against.
At 9-3, the Dinos are one of just two teams to have already clinched a playoff spot, and their two-match sweep over the UBC Thunderbirds last weekend propelled them to No. 3 in the CIS national rankings – not only the highest level the men's volleyball program has attained since the preseason rankings in 2003, but the highest ranking of any current team at the University of Calgary.
From the steady distribution of setter Ciaran McGovern, a veteran of several national teams who earned a spot on last year's CIS all-rookie team, to the flash of fourth-year right side Omar Langford to the heavily-accented passion of Kazakh middle Oleg Podporin, the 2008-09 Dinos are slowly growing into their status as an elite team in the nation.
They took a big step towards a home playoff date – the first since 2002 – with the sweep of UBC last week, but the road doesn't get much easier the rest of the way. Ahead on the schedule are No. 7 Brandon (6-4) and No. 9 Thompson Rivers (7-5) – but up next is maybe the biggest challenge of them all, the sixth-ranked Winnipeg Wesmen (7-3).
The Wesmen, who have been to the last two national finals, lost BLG Award winner Ben Schellenberg and all-star setter Dustin Addison-Schneider this season, but they have still been a tough opponent this season. Fourth-year outside hitter Andrew Town has gone to town on offence, pounding 180 kills to sit third in the conference, while junior middle Justin Duff has connected on better than 40 per cent of his attempts this year.
Longtime head coach Larry McKay has led the Wesmen to an impressive start on the year, with the only blemishes coming in the front end of a home-and-home with the Bobcats last weekend in Brandon along with a two-match sweep in Langley, B.C. at the hands of the Trinity Western Spartans. Winnipeg has yet to take on the powerhouse Golden Bears, however, who are responsible for two of Calgary's three losses on the season.
The Wesmen make their first visit to the Jack Simpson Gym since February 2007, when the upstart Dinos scored a major upset with a 3-1 win the first night. Winnipeg went on to defeat Alberta for the national title just weeks later.
Omar Langford, a second team conference all-star last season, seems to be rounding into form for the Dinos as the stretch drive begins. Having appeared in only 31 of Calgary's 47 sets played this year, Langford is fourth in the league in kills, averaging 4.23 per set, and reached the 27-kill plateau in three of his past four matches – all Calgary wins. He was named CIS athlete of the week in late November following a sparkling weekend at Regina, and his resurgence can only be beneficial to the Dinos through the rest of the season.
The middle tandem of Oleg Podporin and Graham Vigrass continues to get the job done for Calgary, while power hitter and captain Andrew Tallas posted a strong outing in last Sunday's 3-1 win over UBC.
The Dinos head to Brandon next weekend to face the Bobcats before ending the season at home against Thompson Rivers Jan. 30-31.
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