As four-time defending Pacwest men鈥檚 volleyball champions, the Camosun Chargers know every other team in the conference would like nothing more than to set and spike the Chargers into the floorboards.
But that is easier said than set and spiked against a Chargers team that stays consistent and strong across seasons.
鈥淓verybody wants to take a bite out of Camosun鈥檚 glory,鈥� said Chargers head coach Charles Parkinson.
The Douglas College Royals, third in the regular season the past three years, will get their chance tonight in the Chargers鈥� home openers in PISE gym tonight at 8 and Saturday at 3 p.m.
Those will be preceded by the Camosun Chargers women鈥檚 games against Douglas College tonight at 6 and Saturday at 1 p.m.
鈥淲e are a very physical team with size. That will get you a long way in this sport,鈥� said Parkinson, of his men鈥檚 Chargers.
Parkinson should know, as a former national team captain, who has done the colour commentary for CBC鈥檚 coverage of volleyball in the Summer Olympics from Atlanta, Sydney, Athens, Beijing, London and Rio from 1996 through 2016. He guided the Chargers to the 2015 CCAA national title and certainly has proven an ability to keep his program on top in PacWest.
鈥淵ou never want to be in a position to graduate half your team after any season,鈥� said Parkinson.
鈥淪o we plan ahead and keep a core group while adding different parts to it each year. It鈥檚 a process.鈥�
Among the returning core is six-foot-five Brazilian import and last season鈥檚 Pacwest playoff MVP Eduardo Bida, who has been a machine for the Chargers.
Six-foot-five veteran Doug Waterman, out of Belmont Secondary, is heading into his fifth season and has a chance to be conference champion in each of his five years of eligibility.
鈥淭hat would be a great accomplishment for Doug,鈥� added Parkinson, whose Chargers opened conference play with two victories last weekend against Columbia Bible College in Abbotsford.
The six-foot-six, fourth-year setter Mack Mravnik will continue to tee up the ball for the heavy hitters.
Key additions include Vitor Periera from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, a six-foot-five right-side player.
鈥淭here is little in the way of post-secondary sports in South America or Europe, so we get a lot of requests internationally for players looking to come up and play,鈥� said Parkinson, who has used well the Brazilian pipeline.
The starting Chargers libero will be provincial-team player and true freshman Carter Karpenko out of Duchess Park Secondary in Prince George.
Meanwhile, the youthful women鈥檚 Chargers feature six rookies, including Hannah May and Olivia Godek from the two-time sa国际传媒 high school champion Belmont Bulldogs, and seven sophomores. They have a challenging home opening set of games against the defending Pacwest champion and CCAA national runner-up Royals.
鈥淚t sounds like Douglas College is going to be pretty strong,鈥� said Chargers head coach Brent Hall, in a statement.
Hall鈥檚 young Camosun side opened 2-0 last weekend in Abby against Columbia Bible College.
鈥淚 believe the Royals returned the majority of their starters,鈥� he noted, about this weekend鈥檚 much more difficult assignment against Douglas College.
鈥淭hat said, they were one of our better matchups last season and even though we were not able to come away with a win, we went the distance with them and really challenged them.鈥�
