CALGARY – It was a solid first season at the helm for University of Calgary Dinos men's volleyball coach Graham Vigrass.

The former Dino returned to his alma mater and, in year one, coached them to a 9-11 overall record, winning five of their last six regular season games to earn a playoff spot where they swept UFV before falling to the eventual national silver medallists.

It would be natural for a first-year coach to feel like his staff had accomplished a lot in year one, right?

"It feels like we got a lot done last year," Vigrass said. "But, the more that we did or the more we kind of started has now created even more things to action. Which is exciting, because the potential of this program in the future is massive. There's a lot of work to be done to right the ship, so to speak."

If you're able to spend any time with Vigrass, it's easy to see the vision he has for his program. 

Despite graduating a star-studded class of four standouts – three of which who are now playing professionally overseas – the team is excited about the four newcomers to join this year's team that expect to push things even further.

"I'm not really thinking in terms of replacing guys, more so we're just looking to have our best group to be on the court," Vigrass said. "We have a smaller roster, in that we don't have many redshirts. So, there is a lot of opportunities in training and guys are naturally able to improve a lot just with the opportunities in practice. There are some big holes to fill, but we have some really experienced young guys that have shown lots of promise."

Calgary was able to make a number of big splashes in recruiting this past year, headlined by two individuals already making their mark within the Volleyball Canada's U19 National Team in Cam Hutt and Matthew Brown.

Hutt is a 6-foot-7 middle who makes his way to Calgary all the way from Guelph, Ont. Hutt played for KW Predators Volleyball and Team Ontario before spending his summer with the U19 National Team, traveling to Cuernavaca, Mexico and helping Canada capture its first-ever medal in the history of the U19 Pan American Cup with a sweep of Venezuela in the bronze medal game.

Meanwhile, Brown – who comes from Winnipeg and played at the noteworthy WinMan Volleyball Club – spent his summer months also with the U19 national team, traveling to Uzbekistan for the World Championships.

"All the guys coming in have competed really well," Vigrass said. "Their level is good enough that they have walked into The Jack from day one with an ability to push for a spot. We don't really look at them like first years, it's just whoever is most prepared to start will. They've shown that all of them are more mature in how old they are – in their level and also as people."

"I'm really excited about all four of them. Cam and Matthew both played on the U19 National Team. Those guys have had an awesome summer experience. But the other guys…Jackson (Vandersteen) and Marshall (Qually) have come in with the ability to push for a position on the court. Same with Ethan (Czepuryk) coming back. Ethan took the last year off, but once he's healthy he'll push for a spot, as well. 

"Our level of training has definitely improved. Even though we've lost a few big guys, the level of training has gone up, for sure."

While the excitement is certainly high given the newcomers joining this year's Dinos squad, the cupboard was far from bare, with returning talent from last year's roster.

Emil Olsen and Cole Czepuryk both return for year two after being named to the Canada West All-Rookie Team a season ago. Olsen is a 5-foot-7 libero who led the team in both digs (171) last year and energy on the court. The emotional sparkplug for the Dinos spent his summer competing with the Norwegian National Team at the European Championship. 

Meanwhile, Czepuryk returns for his second season after a strong finish to his rookie campaign. The highly recruited local product finished the regular season with 109 kills, 56 digs and 17 total blocks. He started to find his rhythm down the stretch, recording all five of his double-digit kill performances in the second semester.

In all, the Dinos return nine players who saw the court last season. Erik Godwin is the leading return in terms of kills (145 total), while Zack Durrant was the primary setter a season ago with 577 total assists and ranked third on the team in digs (103). 

While not every member of this year's roster spent the offseason training with their country's respective national team, a number of local players were able to stay local this summer and train playing beach volleyball – something Vigrass says is invaluable to player development.

"Every Sunday we played beach for the guys that were in Calgary. Certain positions in volleyball lack skill repetitions because they just don't train it enough at a young age. And then they come here and there are some real big gaps in their skills. Lots of coaches will just take a middle and just throw him at the net and not work on defence or passing or setting, and beach is really helpful for that because you have to do everything. Every player has to pass, set, spike and block. So, I'm a huge supporter of guys playing beach in the summer and I think it translates to indoor like crazy."

A number of returners have already shown they are capable of taking that next step during preseason action. 

The Dinos went 7-2 in preseason action, including bringing home the bronze medal at their home Dino Cup. There, Calgary took down York (3-0), Sherbrooke (3-2) and Mount Royal (3-1), with their lone loss coming 3-2 in a memorable match against The Master's University – a powerhouse program in California that went a perfect 27-0 last year.

For Vigrass, it's just about seeing his team regularly perform at that level, no matter the opponent.

"I think we can compete with the best teams in Canada. It's just figuring out a way to do everything more consistently," Vigrass said. "I like our focus in practice. It's a habit that we're trying to create. If your shoes are on and your feet are on the hardwood, then it's time to focus. It doesn't matter if it's game time, the national final, a 10 a.m. practice…we need to be focused. It's a work in progress and it's super important for our guys to treat everything the same way." 

The Dinos open the 2025-26 season at home, welcoming MacEwan to the Jack Simpson Gym. Friday's opener is set for a 5 p.m. first serve, while Saturday's rematch is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start following the women's match. Saturday is also Alumni Night for the program.

-UC-