Trinity Western Spartans men's volleyball

The Trinity Western Spartans men's volleyball team is a university varsity volleyball program in Canada that represents Trinity Western University, competing in the Canada West Universities Athletics Association of U Sports. Based out of Langley, British Columbia, the Spartans play their home games at the Langley Events Centre, a multi-sport facility close to the main campus. Led by then head coach Ron Pike, the Spartans won their first ever National Championship in 2006, defeating the University of Alberta Golden Bears in the final by a score of 3–0. Since then, the Spartans have won six more championships, for a total of seven, hoisting the Tantramar Trophy again in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2023. The Spartans were led by head coach Ben Josephson from 2007 to 2022 before he took over as the head coach for Canada's men's volleyball program. Adam Schriemer is now the head coach. In the Canada West conference, the Spartans have won the league title seven times, taking the conference championship in 2007, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022.

History

Ron Pike era

From 1999 to 2007, Ron Pike led the Spartans men's volleyball team into a new era of competition, as Trinity Western University joined the Canada West conference in 1999. Pike led the program to their first ever post-season berth in 2002, and the program's first ever post-season series win in 2004. That same year, 2003–04, the Spartans earned their first ever national championship berth and went on to win the bronze medal at the national tournament. The following season, Pike led the Spartans to their first national championship final, eventually losing to the Alberta Golden Bears. The following season, 2005–06, the Spartans won the men's volleyball program's first ever National Championship, beating Alberta in straight sets.
During his eight seasons of coaching in Canada West, Pike amassed a total record of 102–92, winning four Canada West medals and three national championship medals.
On two occasions, athletes under Ron Pike were nominated for the BLG Award as the top male athlete across all Canadian university sports. Chris Meehan was nominated in 2005-2006 and Josh Howatson was nominated in 2006–07. Howatson would go on to win the BLG award, the school's first ever recipient of this honour. That season, Howatson also captured the program's first ever National Player of the Year award.

Ben Josephson era

Ben Josephson was the Spartans head coach from 2007 to 2022, after being an assistant coach from 2004 to 2007. Building upon the championship foundation laid by Ron Pike, Josephson took the program to new heights as he guided TWU to five national championships, winning in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2019. Josephson has also led the Spartans to six Canada West championships, winning in 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020 and 2022, which includes TWU's current run of 10 straight appearances in the conference final.
During Josephson's tenure, the program produced six U Sports Player of the Year award winners, including Ben Ball, Nick Del Bianco, Ryan Sclater, Adam Schriemer, Eric Loeppky and Derek Epp. The Spartans have also had two winners of the U Sports Rookie of the Year award, with Adam Schriemer winning in 2013–14 and Eric Loeppky winning in 2016–17. With Josephson at the helm, the Spartans had three players nominated for the BLG Award, with Ben Ball nominated in 2011–12, Ryan Sclater nominated in 2016–17 and Derek Epp nominated in 2021–22. The program has also produced six Olympians, as men's volleyball alumni Rudy Verhoeff, Steve Marshall, Daniel Jansen Van Doorn, Lucas Van Berkel and Ryan Sclater have represented Canada's national indoor volleyball team, and Chaim Schalk has represented Canada's beach volleyball team.
Over his career with TWU, Josephson was named both the Canada West Coach of the Year and U Sports Coach of the Year four times, in 2011–12, 2013–14, 2019–20 and 2021–22. Before moving to the sidelines, Josephson was a stand-out player for the Spartans from 1998 to 2003 and, in his final year, earned the school's first ever All-Canadian award while, in that same year, also being named a Canada West First Team All-Star.

International competition

The Spartans have competed several times against international competition, including representing Canada five times - at the FIVB Club World Championships in 2011, the 2012 Men's U23 Pan-American Volleyball Cup, the 2018 FISU America Games, the 2019 CAN-AM Holiday Showcase, and the 2021 Pan American Cup.

2011 FIVB Club World Championship

The Spartans travelled to Doha, Qatar in 2011 after being invited to take part in the FIVB Men's Club World Championships. The Spartans were the North American representatives for the 2011 edition of the tournament. The annual tournament features many of the top professional club teams in the world. The Spartans finished that tournament with a 1–2 record, with a win over Iranian champion Paykan Tehran and losses to Russia's Zenit Kazan and Poland's KS Jastrzebski Wegiel.

2012 Men's U23 Pan-American Volleyball Cup

In 2012, the Spartans were awarded the chance to represent Canada for the U23 Pan American Men's Volleyball Cup. The matches were played at the Langley Events Centre, home of the Spartans. In round robin play, the Spartans finished with two wins and two losses. They finished fourth overall at the tournament, earning wins over the Dominican Republic and Mexico in round robin play before losing to Brazil in the semifinal, and the Dominican Republic in the bronze medal match.

2018 FISU America Games

The Spartans represented Canada again in 2018 at the inaugural FISU America Games in São Paulo, Brazil. The FISU America Games is a Pan American branch of the FISU World University Games. At the tournament, the Spartans finished with a 1–1 record in pool play. They lost 3–0 to Brazil in the semifinals but went on to beat Mexico 3–2 in the bronze medal match.

2019 CAN-AM Holiday Showcase

In 2019, the Spartans competed in the inaugural CAN-AM Holiday Showcase. The CAN-AM Volleyball Holiday Showcase featured four Canadian teams, with the University of Alberta, McMaster University and Ryerson University joining TWU against then two-time defending NCAA champions Long Beach State University, as well as UCLA, Lewis University and Ohio State University. TWU went a perfect 3–0 during the course of the tournament, beating Long Beach State, UCLA, and Lewis. The tournament was the first time since 2010 that the Spartans had played NCAA competition.

2021 Pan American Cup

The Spartans represented Canada at the in the Dominican Republic, winning a silver medal. The Spartans finished with a 5–2 overall record, earning wins over Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Suriname. TWU beat the Dominican Republic 3–0 in the semifinals before falling to Mexico in three sets in the gold medal match.

Venues and facilities

From 1999 to 2009 the Spartans competed at the David E. Enarson Gymnasium on the Trinity Westerns University campus. During the 2010 season, the Spartans and the Spartan Faithful transitioned to the Langley Events Centre, a multi-purpose facility in the Township of Langley, which is also the home of TWU's basketball, hockey, and rugby teams. Because of the Spartans success and passionate fan base, the LEC has become one of the hardest gyms in the conference for opposing teams to play in. The Spartans men's volleyball program has hosted the National Championship tournament once, in 2011, which was hosted at the Langley Events Centre. That year, the Spartans captured the program's second national championship.

National Player of the Year

Members of the TWU men's volleyball program have been awarded the National Player of the Year Award on seven different occasions.

2006–07	Josh Howatson	Setter
2011–12	Ben Ball	Setter
2014–15	Nick Del Bianco	Outside hitter
2016–17	Ryan Sclater	Outside hitter
2017–18	Adam Schriemer	Setter
2019–20	Eric Loeppky	Outside hitter
2021–22	Derek Epp	Setter

National Coach of the Year

2004–05	Ron Pike	19–8
2011–12	Ben Josephson	24–1
2013–14	Ben Josephson	23–4
2019–20	Ben Josephson	25–3
2021–22	Ben Josephson	15–1

Other major award winners

National Rookie of the Year	Chris Meehan Adam Schriemer Eric Loeppky	2001–02 2013–14 2016–17
Dale Iwanoczko Award	Josh Howatson Rudy Verhoeff	2006–07 2011–12
Libero of the Year*	Jarrod Offereins	2011–12
National Championship Tournament MVP	Chris Meehan Rudy Verhoeff Ben Ball Blake Scheerhoorn Adam Schriemer Eric Loeppky	2005–06 2010–11 2011–12 2015–16 2016–17 2018–19

''* denotes award no longer given''

U Sports All-Canadians

1st Team	2003–04	Chris Meehan
1st Team	2005–06	Josh Howatson Chris Meehan
1st Team	2006–07	Josh Howatson
1st Team	2011–12	Ben Ball Rudy Verhoeff
1st Team	2012–13	Nick Del Bianco
1st Team	2013–14	Lucas Van Berkel
1st Team	2014–15	Nick Del Bianco
1st Team	2016–17	Ryan Sclater
1st Team	2017–18	Adam Schriemer Eric Loeppky
1st Team	2018–19	Eric Loeppky
1st Team	2019–20	Eric Loeppky Derek Epp
1st Team	2021–22	Brodie Hofer Derek Epp
2nd Team	2002–03	Ben Josephson
2nd Team	2004–05	Steve Rogalsky
2nd Team	2006–07	Steve Rogalsky
2nd Team	2008–09	Chaim Schalk
2nd Team	2010–11	Rudy Verhoeff
2nd Team	2013–14	Nick Del Bianco
2nd Team	2018–19	Jacob Kern

Lieutenant Governor Athletic Awards

Athletes from the men's volleyball program have been nominated on four separate occasions for the Lieutenant Governor Athletic Award, which is given annually to top male and female athletes across all Canadian universities. Chris Meehan was nominated in 2005–06, Josh Howatson was nominated in 2006–07, Ben Ball was nominated in 2011–12, Ryan Sclater was nominated in 2016–17 and Derek Epp was nominated in 2021–22. Howatson went on to win the award as the top Male Athlete in Canada in 2006–07.

Canada West regular season records

1999-00	5-17	5^th*	Did not Qualify
2000-01	6-16	5^th*	Did not Qualify
2001-02	8-12	4^th*	Quarterfinals
2002-03	9-11	5th	Quarterfinals
2003-04	12-8	4th	Quarterfinals
2004-05	14-6	2^nd*	Silver
2005-06	16-4	2^nd*	Silver
2006-07	13-5	3rd	Gold
2007-08	8-10	7th	Quarterfinals
2008-09	11-7	3rd	Quarterfinals
2009-10	11-7	4th	Silver
2010-11	13-5	3rd	Bronze
2011-12	19-1	1st	Gold
2012-13	16-6	2nd	Silver
2013-14	20-2	1st	Silver
2014-15	20-4	2nd	Silver
2015-16	14-10	6th	Gold
2016-17	21-3	2nd	Gold
2017-18	22-2	1st	Gold
2018-19	18-4	2nd	Silver
2019-20	20-2	1st	Gold
2021-22	15-1	1st	Gold
2022-23	18-6	3rd	Silver

''*- denotes divisional finish''

Postseason history

Canada West playoffs results

Since beginning Canada West competition in the 1999–00 season, the program has medalled 15 times, including every year from 2010 to 2020, as well as reaching the conference championship match from 2012 to 2020. To date, the program has captured a total of six conference championships which includes: 2007, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020.

2000	Did not Qualify
2001	Did not Qualify
2002	CW Quarterfinal Series	Calgary	L 2-0
2003	CW Quarterfinal Series	Manitoba	L 2-0
2004	CW Semifinal CW Bronze Match	Manitoba Alberta	L 3–1 L 3–0	Bronze
2005	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal CW Championship Final	Winnipeg Saskatchewan Alberta	W 2-0 W 3–2 L 3–1	Silver
2006	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal CW Championship Final	Winnipeg Saskatchewan Alberta	W 2-0 W 3–0 L 3–0	Silver
2007	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal CW Championship Final	Saskatchewan Winnipeg UBC	W 2-0 W 3–2 W 3–1	Gold
2008	CW Quarterfinal Series	Winnipeg	L 2-0
2009	CW Quarterfinal Series	Thompson Rivers	L 2-1
2010	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal CW Championship Final	Winnipeg Calgary Alberta	W 2-1 W 3–2 L 3–2	Silver
2011	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal CW Bronze	Thompson Rivers Calgary Alberta	W 2-0 L 3–2 W 3–1	Bronze
2012	CW Semifinal CW Championship Final	Calgary Manitoba	W 3–0 W 3–2	Gold
2013	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal CW Championship	Winnipeg UBC Brandon	W 2-0 W 3–2 L 3–1	Silver
2014	CW Semifinal CW Championship Final	Brandon Alberta	W 3–1 L 3–0	Silver
2015	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal CW Championship Final	Thompson Rivers Brandon Alberta	W 2-0 W 3–1 L 3–1	Silver
2016	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal CW Championship Final	Calgary Alberta Saskatchewan	W 2-1 W 3–0 W 3–1	Gold
2017	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal CW Championship Final	Winnipeg Alberta Manitoba	W 2-0 W 3–2 W 3–2	Gold
2018	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal Series CW Championship Final	Thompson Rivers Winnipeg Alberta	W 2-0 W 2-0 W 3–1	Gold
2019	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal Series CW Championship Final	UBC Thompson Rivers Brandon	W 2-1 W 2-0 L 3–2	Silver
2020	CW Quarterfinal Series CW Semifinal Series CW Championship Final	Mount Royal Brandon Alberta	W 2-0 W 2-1 W 3–0	Gold
2022	CW Pool A, Game 1 CW Pool A, Game 4 Pool A, Game 6 Pool D, Game 1 Pool D, Game 3 CW Semifinal CW Championship Final	Thompson Rivers Mount Royal Brandon Saskatchewan Calgary Brandon Alberta	W 3–0 W 3–0 W 3–2 W 3–0 W 3–0 W 3–0 W 3–1	Gold

U Sports Championship Tournament results

The men's volleyball program reached the national championship tournament for the first time in program history in 2004 where they earned the bronze medal. In total, the program has won 12 national tournament medals, which included a run of five straight years in which the Spartans won either a gold or silver medal. The program has captured the National Championship six times, including in 2006, 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017 and 2019. Heading into the 2020 National Championship, the Spartans earned the number one seed having captured the Canada West Championship and a league-best record of 20–2, but were unable to compete for their fourth championship in five years when the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

2000	Did not Qualify
2001	Did not Qualify
2002	Did not Qualify
2003	Did not Qualify
2004	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Semifinal CIS Bronze	Laval Saskatchewan Manitoba	W 3–1 L 3–0 W 3–1	Bronze
2005	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Semifinal CIS Championship Final	York Saskatchewan Alberta	W 3–1 W 3–0 L 3–2	Silver
2006	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Semifinal CIS Championship Final	Queen's Manitoba Alberta	W 3–0 W 3–2 W 3–0	Gold
2007	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Semifinal CIS Bronze	McMaster Alberta UBC	W 3–2 L 3–2 W 3–0	Bronze
2008	Did not Qualify
2009	Did not Qualify
2010	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Semifinal CIS Championship Final	Queen's Laval Calgary	W 3–0 W 3–2 L 3–1	Silver
2011	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Semifinal CIS Championship Final	Alberta Calgary Brandon	W 3–2 W 3–2 W 3–0	Gold
2012	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Semifinal CIS Championship Final	Dalhousie Queen's Laval	W 3–0 W 3–0 W 3–1	Gold
2013	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Consolation Semifinal CIS Consolation Final	Western UNB Alberta	L 3–2 W 3–2 L 3–1
2014	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Consolation Semifinal CIS Consolation Final	Western Calgary Dalhousie	L 3–2 W 3–1 W 3–1
2015	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Semifinal CIS Championship Final	Laval McMaster Alberta	W 3–0 W 3–1 L 3–0	Silver
2016	CIS Quarterfinal CIS Semifinal CIS Championship Final	Ryerson Alberta McMaster	W 3–1 W 3–2 W 3–1	Gold
2017	U Sports Quarterfinal U Sports Semifinal U Sports Championship Final	Waterloo McMaster Alberta	W 3–0 W 3–1 W 3–1	Gold
2018	U Sports Quarterfinal U Sports Semifinal U Sports Championship Final	Windsor McMaster UBC	W 3–1 W 3–1 L 3–0	Silver
2019	U Sports Quarterfinal U Sports Semifinal U Sports Championship Final	McMaster Laval Brandon	W 3–1 W 3–2 W 3–0	Gold
2020	Cancelled
2021	Cancelled
2022	U Sports Quarterfinal U Sports Semifinal U Sports Championship Final	Manitoba Sherbrooke Alberta	W 3–0 W 3–0 L 3–1	Silver

Record vs. Canada West opponents

All-time series record includes conference matches and postseason results from 1999 to 2020.

Alberta Golden Bears	30–57	13–39
Brandon Bobcats	24–15	18–10
Calgary Dinos	44–27	35–23
MacEwan Griffins	12–0	12–0
Manitoba Bisons	26–21	22–18
Mount Royal Cougars	19–4	14–2
Regina Cougars	37–1	37–1
Saskatchewan Huskies	37–19	32–14
Thompson Rivers Wolfpack	54–13	27–5
UBC Okanagan Heat	32–1	18–0
UBC Thunderbirds	52–23	40–16
Winnipeg Wesmen	41–18	30–12

Spartans representing Team Canada

TWU has seen may athletes go on to compete for the senior national team, both in beach volleyball and indoor volleyball at several levels including the Canadian youth national team, junior national team, FISU Summer Games Team, senior national ‘B’ team, senior national team, and Canadian beach national team. The Spartans have also had four athletes compete at the Olympic Summer Games, with Daniel Jansen Van Doorn, Steven Marshall, Rudy Verhoeff, and Chaim Schalk representing Team Canada at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Four Spartans helped team Canada qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, with Steven Marshall, Ryan Sclater, Lucas Van Berkel, and Daniel Jansen Van Doorn contributing to the team's qualification in January 2020 in Vancouver, BC.

Senior National Team Athletes	Josh Howatson, Steven Marshall, Dan Jansen Van Doorn, Derek Epp Ryan Sclater, Doug Van Spronsen, Rudy Verhoeff, Lucas Van Berkel, Chris Meehan, Blake Scheerhoorn, Adam Schriemer, Eric Loeppky, Brodie Hofer Mathias Elser, Jesse Elser, Pearce Eshenko, Jackson Howe
Junior National Team Athletes	Josh Doornenbal, Rudy Verhoeff, Marc Howatson, Josh Howatson, Chris Meehan, Justin Pankratz, Jeff Lindemulder, Mark Huberts, Chris Roy, Steve Rogalsky, Doug Van Spronsen, Lucas Van Berkel, Brad Kufske, Brandon Schmidt, Derek Thiessen, Tyler Koslowsky, Adam Schriemer, Blake Scheerhoorn, Jacob Kern, Pearce Eshenko, Jesse Elser, Eric Loeppky, Brodie Hofer, Mathias Elser

TWU Spartans professional volleyball careers

Several athletes from the men's volleyball program have gone on to play professionally in leagues around Europe and the rest of the world.

Steve Marshall – Nice Volley-Ball
Derek Epp – Arago de Sète
Jackson Howe – Stade Poitevin Poitiers
Lucas Van Berkel – Tourcoing Lille Métropole
Ryan Sclater – Arago de Sète
Chaim Schalk – AVP Beach Volleyball
Eric Loeppky – Gioiella Prisma Taranto
Pearce Eschenko – SVG Lüneburg
Jacob Kern – Lycurgus Volleyball
Jordan Schnitzer – SVG Lüneburg
Tyler Koslowsky – 2016–2022
Rudy Verhoeff – 2013–2021
Daniel Jansen Van Doorn – 2013–2020
Blake Scheerhoorn – 2016–2020
Adam Schriemer – 2018–2019
Danny Grant – 2016–2019
Nick Del Bianco – 2015–2019
Josh Howatson – 2007–2019
Stephen Nash – ''2009–2017''

Media

Trinity Western Spartan men's volleyball matches in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association conference can be seen live on www.Canadawest.tv.