The Providence Pilots men’s volleyball team may have finished as the third seed in the regular season, but they managed to pull off two major upsets to win the MCAC Championships during the February 23 weekend tournament.
The Pilots needed to defeat not only two of the top-ranked teams in the league—Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) and St. Boniface—but also the two teams they’d had the most difficulty beating during the regular season.
Having only beaten St. Boniface once during the season, and CMU not at all, the Pilots’ confidence was not high heading into the semifinals.
“There wasn’t a lot that happened in the last three to four weeks of the season that made us think we had much of a chance to win a championship this year. So I would say our confidence wasn’t super high,” says head coach Scott Masterson. “That being said, we talk a lot about peaking at the right time of the season and whenever you have one more game left, there’s always that chance that the next game will be your best. Somehow we played our best two matches of the season, by far, in the semifinal and the final. As we realized the quality of volleyball that we were playing, I think our confidence grew as the weekend went on. Even in the championship game, we played with a level of confidence that I had not seen from this group to that point in the season.”
It was easy for most people, including the team, to assume that the results of their last two games would be similar to how the scores ended during the season.
With a record of 1–3 against St. Boniface and 01–34 against CMU, Masterson was looking for ways to give the Pilots an edge and send them into the semifinals with the hope of turning things around.
Without making any huge adjustments to their style of play, Masterson says their biggest weakness throughout the season was serving and passing, so focusing on improving those two areas during the final matchups could be the edge they needed.
“Our coaching staff always knew that if we could pass well and serve tough, it would allow us to better execute the kind of volleyball we have always been trying to play this season but just couldn’t execute until the championships,” he explains. “The main area that contributed to our success was that we did both of those things exceptionally well.”
The Pilots won the semifinals 3–2 against the St. Boniface University Les Rouges, advancing them to the championship final against the CMU Blazers, where they won that matchup 3–1.
Despite their high performance during the first few sets of the semifinals, the Pilots were still the underdogs to advance in the tournament and knew they needed to continue performing if they wanted a shot at the championships.
“Prior to the last five points of the fourth set of the championship game, I don’t think any of us assumed that winning the match was going to be the likely outcome,” Masterson says. “Even after going up two sets to one against CMU, we knew they had a lot of veteran players and would fight to the end. That being said, going into the championships without any expectations definitely helped us play freely and without much tension. The guys were more nervous heading into the final and so we were intentional about keeping things light and upbeat. In the end, the players had to remain mentally strong in very high-pressure situations and they were able to do so.”
Masterson is in his third season coaching the men’s volleyball team at Providence, where they have had a 40–7 win-loss record and one MCAC championship.
He previously coached the women’s volleyball team for six seasons where they accumulated a 188–68 win-loss record, four MCAC championships, and six NCCAA North Region championships.
An experienced coach, Masterson knew that he needed to rely on his experienced players to perform at a high level during their playoff run.
Matt Friesen, a Grunthal native who is in his fifth year with the Pilots and plays left side, came up big in the last two games with 24 kills, 14 digs, and three blocks. The veteran was awarded championship MVP and was selected to the all-conference team for his performance throughout the season.
“He passed incredibly well and was able to get a lot of touches and slowdowns as a blocker,” says the head coach. “In the final, he had a couple incredible defensive plays that helped swing momentum at important moments in those sets. Most importantly, Matt was consistently effective offensively, with a 45 percent kill percentage and only 10 attacking error in our two matches. Matt led our team by example through his consistency, calmness in tense moments, and infectious confidence.”
Brett Foley, a middle and another veteran, is in his third year with the Pilots. He also had a great weekend, earning Player of the Game in the semifinal upset against St. Boniface. The Portage la Prairie native had 24 kills, nine digs, eight blocks, and two aces in their final two matches and was almost unstoppable offensively with a 77 percent kill percentage and only one attacking error in two matches, according to Masterson.
“I also want to commend our freshman players who started for us during the championships,” says Masterson. “Adrian Kalyniuk, a setter from Île-des-Chênes, Kole Bergman, a right side from Carmen, and Trey Friesen, a left side from Rosenort, all played exceptionally well, and with a lot of poise. They played the best they have played all season and seemed to thrive in the pressure of the situation. I was incredibly proud of how they handled themselves and how they rose to the occasion. I am very excited to continue working with them in the years to come.”
