Shane Hyde has built a women's volleyball dynasty at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo.
In his 12 years as head coach with the VIU Mariners, his teams have won eight medals at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association championships, including last year's gold at Nanaimo.
The defending champions came to the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence this weekend and swept the Camosun Chargers to open the Pacwest season.
The Mariners defeated the Chargers 25-20, 25-15 and 25-23 on Saturday.
"This program was successful before I got here," said Hyde, who is from Parksville. "I worked two years in the program as an assistant coach and that got me ready to take over the program. I'm not the most technical coach around and when I have the athletes, I let them be creative."
During the three-game set against the Chargers, the Mariners were laughing and smiling the entire time. It didn't matter if they were up or down as they enjoyed being on the floor.
"Early in the year, most teams are working on playing exhibition games and strategy," said Hyde. "What we do is work on team building and goal setting.
We'll go on team hikes and weekend retreats. Our players may not be the best of friends, but they sure enjoy playing volleyball.
"Camosun battled us hard tonight, especially in that third set. As the season progresses, we will be a much sharper team."
In 2011, the Mariners were dealt a devastating blow in the gold-medal game. The Mariners were on the floor celebrating an apparent win when the referee overturned a call.
"That 2011 final was devastating," said Hyde. "Our team was crying tears of joy and having their pictures taken on the floor and then we had to go back and play. We could just never recover from that. We did finally put that behind us with the championship win at home.''
The Mariners are loaded with talent, including fifth-year players Dani Smith from Beaverlodge, Alta., and Sandra Veikle from Cut Knife, Sask.
"After we lost the 2011 final the way we did, it motivated us to come back strong the next year,'' said Smith. "It was amazing to win it at home last year, and that atmosphere will never be replicated.
"Our program is so good because we have strong players and strong coaches. We are not only playing for this year's team but for all of the other players that have gone through the system.
"We have total respect for each other, and we seem to play our best when we are relaxed and loose.''
The 22-year-old Smith is the No. 1 setter for the team. She is so good at it that she is a carded member of Team sa国际传媒. She will be returning to Winnipeg in May for another tryout with the national team.
In the men's match, the Mariners recorded a hard-fought 3-2 decision over Camosun. The Mariners won 11-25, 25-23, 22-25, 25-20 and 15-9.
Both Camosun volleyball teams return to action next weekend on the road in Abbotsford against the Fraser Valley Cascades. [email protected]
