Season Preview: Men’s Volleyball Team entering the new season with championship aspirations
Last season was a success for the St. Thomas University (STU) Men’s Volleyball Tommies. The squad finished the year with a 16-4 record.
STU carried this confidence into the playoffs. They came out on top in the semi-finals but fell short in the finals to the Universitie Ste-Anne Dragons.
Fast forward to the 2025-26 ACAA season. The team comes into the year with a renewed sense of optimism and a deep roster of 18 new and returning players.
The Tommies had two players from last year’s roster graduate from the program, Tim Juvonen and Benson Garchinski. However, they added five rookies and two transfer players during the offseason.
Evan Mosley, Brady Thorogood, Kawana Snow, Liam Aitkenhead, Lucas Lavigne and Kalan Noonan will all be suiting up for the green and gold for the first time in their volleyball careers.
Henri Mallet is the head coach of the Men’s Volleyball team. He called last season an “important step” for the program, one that focused on growth and maturity.
“We’ve built a standard of winning at St. Thomas that comes with clear expectations for results. With a now more mature and experienced roster, we expect to be very competitive every weekend and in every match we play,” he said. “While the results last season didn’t fully meet our program standards, the experience gave our group valuable lessons on the importance of maintaining focus through the ups and downs of a long season.
The Tommies’ leadership is set to come from a core of experienced players. Three fourth-year players are returning to the lineup, including Brenton Romanchuk, Mason Brewster and captain Raph Fiset. All three were league all-stars last season. The team’s pair of fifth-year players are also expected to be difference makers.
Mallet thinks every player has the potential to contribute on the court. He feels this season brings one of the deepest roster he has had the opportunity to coach during his nine years with the team.
“We have more depth and internal competition than ever before. And that’s a great problem to have,” he said.
The Tommies will have an extra bit of incentive for success this season. They are set to host the ACAA Playoffs. Four of the top teams in the league will travel to Fredericton in February, all in the name of capturing the league title.
Kevin Douglas is a fifth-year middle blocker. He is one of the players Mallet believes will be a difference maker on the court this season.
Douglas thinks the Tommis have a “one of a kind" squad this season. All 18 players are ready to compete at the university level, while being prepared to make a splash.
“This group has a certain hunger for victory. From the oldest guy to the youngest, every single guy wants to win the ACAA and head to Alberta for nationals,” said Douglas. “With a mix of returning guys, rookies and transfers you’d think it would take some time to develop our chemistry, but in the first week of practice, the new guys were already fitting in, and we were able to play at a high level.”
Douglas and the rest of the Tommies have one goal for the year; to win their conference at home and go to Nationals. Last season, STU fell short of this goal. He called last season “good, but not great.”
At the same time, Douglas sees no reason why the team can’t dominate the league.
“Overcoming mistakes and coming back from deficits will be our biggest challenge. We can’t expect to beat every team 3-0. There are good players in this league that will push us around sometimes and put us on our backfoot,” he said. “We need to be able to let past points and sets rest and have a willingness and mentality to bounce back and finish games with a win.”
Sebby Villeneuve was one of seven newcomers brought in by the Tommies during the offseason. He will also be wearing the green and gold for the first time.
Hailing from Bedford, Nova Scotia, Villeneuve said he is “really grateful" for being with a group of guys who welcomed him during his first season with the team.
“I think there's a lot of work to do as an individual, but our team seems quite prepared and well-rounded at every spot on the court. And what I think separates us from every team in the league is that we are super deep. Anyone at any given time can be on the court ahead of anyone.”
Like Mallet, Villeneuve feels the Tommies have the potential to be fun to watch this season. He hopes the team gets better every day, both on and off the court. He also believes that if the squad carries the right mindset, they will push each other and do well.
“We've got a lot of strong players and a strong group of guys. So, I think we've got a really good shot at the title this year,” said Villeneuve. “I have very high expectations for our squad this year.”
STU opens their season this weekend at home against the Universitie Ste-Anne Dragons. Game time on Saturday is at four o'clock, while Sunday’s action begins at 10 o’clock.
“We’d love to see a packed gym to start things off,” said Mallet. “Help us set the tone for an exciting year of Tommies volleyball.”
Story written by Leo Czank