Volleyball V-Reds closing gap on perennial champions

Dan McMorran knows he can't tune out critics who are tired of his University of New Brunswick Varsity Reds playing second fiddle to the Dalhousie Tigers.

The Tigers swept the V-Reds for the second straight year to win the Atlantic University Sport men's volleyball title for the 30th time in 31 years - 24th in a row.

Ho and hum.

But McMorran feels the V-Reds (43-33 over the past four seasons) are ready to take a run at the Tigers. More importantly, his coaching counterpart at Dal, Dan Ota, feels the same way.

"We have a lot of respect for their program," Ota said. "They've certainly made some pretty significant strides under Dan McMorran. A couple years ago, we were neck and neck to the point where they pushed us to the very brink.

"We've noticed the huge strides they've made," Ota said. "I think the rest of the country has been a little slower to notice. It's just a matter of time before they realize UNB's become a quality program."

"There's nobody who wants to win an Atlantic championship more than I do," said McMorran, who'll be entering his seventh season - second in a full-time role. "If there is, I'd like to see them walk through the door because they'd help us out.

"I'd be a hypocrite if I said we were just trying to beat Dalhousie," McMorran said. "We're not. We're trying to win a CIS championship."

The Tigers lose a pair of fifth-year starters: middle Erik Montgomery and setter Russ Lawrence. The V-Reds lose starter Ryley Boldon and Brett Watson, but chemical engineering whiz Jacob Kilpatrick is returning for a fifth season.

"Jacob's done everything for us - on the court, off the court, in the classroom," McMorran said of the AUS all-star.

"That's huge," Ota said. "Jacob is one of the best middles in the country."

McMorran has brought in Marc White, an outside hitter from Ecole Sainte Anne regarded as the best high school recruit in Atlantic Canada, and six-foot-six Brett Ledrew, who started for Newfoundland's Canada Games team last summer over two players who suited up for the Memorial Seahawks this past season.

"Marc's going to be a fantastic addition," McMorran said. "He's one of the most polished high school players I've seen in a number of years. Not only does he have all the skills, he's probably physically stronger than most Grade 12s that will be going to university. He's got the total package and Brett has huge upside."

In 2007-08, the V-Reds were the seventh-ranked team in the country and came close to stepping on the nationally fourth-ranked Tigers' tail. They beat them three out of seven matches and won the first match of the AUS final in Halifax.

But Dal rallied back.

"We were close," McMorran said, "but we know that doesn't matter until we take the next step and beat them when it counts."

"My belief is we've really pushed ourselves to be better," Ota said.

The Tigers have recruited three players from Alberta: six-foot-five right side player Kenny Rauwerda, six-foot-four setter Justin Kilb, and six-foot-five Dan Bremner, who plays left side.

Rauwerda played two years with the SAIT Polytechnic Trojans and was a Canadian Colleges Athletic Association (CCAA) all-Canadian. Kilb also spent his last two seasons at SAIT and, like Rauwerda, was an ACAC all-star and CCAA national championship tournament all-star. The Trojans were silver medallists at nationals.

Bremner is a two-year veteran of Mount Royal University, helping Team Alberta win gold medals at the 2009 Canada Games and the 2008 National Team Challenge Cup.

"We didn't have a lot of depth last year," Ota said. "When one of our key players got injured right before we went to nationals, we didn't have someone who could just step in. We had to move players around to deal with that.

"This year," he said, "we'll have good competition and good depth at every position."

***

Bruce Hallihan can be reached at 458-6442 or hallihan.bruce@dailygleaner.com.