Two Kelowna-area Grads Help Trinity Western Win CIS Volleyball Title

With significant contribution from a pair of Central Okanagan high school graduates, the Trinity Western Spartans won their fourth CIS men’s volleyball championship on the weekend in Hamilton.

With Scott Plocktis, a Mt. Boucherie Secondary School grad, as a starting outside hitter and Kelowna Christian School product, Leigh Goossen, in the middle, the Spartans won the national title by defeating the host McMaster University Marauders 3-1 (19-25, 25-20, 26-24, 25-16) in the championship match.

For the Spartans, also the surprising Canada West Conference champions, it was their fifth national championship final appearance in the past seven years.

"I'm so proud of these guys," said Trinity Western head coach Ben Josephson, whose team finished the regular season in sixth place in Canada West with a 14-10 record. "They worked so hard in the last few weeks when we thought we were out and we rallied together and played like every loss would be the last day of our season.

"To show that much resiliency is something to be proud of."

After dropping the opening set and struggling to find a rhythm, the Spartans adapted and won the next three to cap an up-and-down year in style.

Sitting 9-9 in late January, Trinity Western was in danger of missing the Canada West playoffs altogether. However, TWU went 5-1 to finish the regular season and then beat Calgary in a three-match quarter-final before running the table in the knockout rounds and earning a spot in the final with a win over Alberta.

"We were going into the last 10 games of the season having to win six of 10, and it was hard enough as it was before we lost the next two," explained setter Adam Schriemer (Winnipeg) of his team's late-season predicament. "But this group never quits, and the way we can come together is so special. I've never been part of any group or team like this."

Enduring a trying time while teaching his players the system he believed would deliver success, Josephson said it was his players' trust that saw them turn things around.

"We were doing all of the right things and we were learning the things that we needed to learn, it just wasn't producing results yet," said Josephson. "We just kept saying to trust us that we're doing the right thing, and to stay together. They love each other, so staying together was easy for them.

"When they started producing some wins, the wheels started to grip the earth."

The Spartans Blake Scheerhoorn (Belleville, Ont.) capped an incredible weekend in his home province by being named the tournament's MVP. Scheerhoorn finished the tournament with 61 kills over three matches.

"This is the most incredible experience of my life," Scheerhoorn said. "There were times during the season when I was praying that I'd get the chance to just play one game in front of my friends and family and then we went on this Cinderella run. To have my brother and my sister and family in the crowd was just amazing. You look up in the crowd and to see all the people who helped me along the way was just amazing.

"I have played my whole career against these (McMaster) guys in Ontario and these are all guys I have constantly lost to in my career in Ontario. We knew it was going to be a tough match and it's just amazing to get it done. It was hot and it felt like my knees were going to collapse, but we made it through."

Meanwhile Kelowna’s 6-foot-6 Goossen, was an inspiration for the Spartans as he played through severe flu-like symptoms throughout the final match. After the match, he was taken to hospital to get an IV.

“Whatever he had to give, he was willing,” Josephson said, adding this was a story of sacrifice and focus by a team that didn’t have a single player receive All-Canadian honours.

Goossen, graduating from Kelowna Christian School in 2011, joined the Spartans last fall after two seasons with the Columbia Bible College Bearcats where he was a two-time PACWEST first-team all-star. Prior to his time with the Bearcats, he also spent one semester with the UBC Okanagan Heat.

Plocktis, in his fourth year with Trinity, graduated from Boucherie (2012) where he was starter for the Bears for three seasons.

In his Grade 12 year, Plocktis, recruited as a setter, was the ranked fourth among all high school players in B.C. by coaches in the province.