News Archives 2010

 

Jeremias Guenter Named BCCAA All Star

Jeremias Guenter (Sylvan Lake, BC) was named a 2nd Team All Star and a member of the BCCAA All Rookie Team.  Jeremias'  tremendous athletic ability enables him to be a passing right side player.  His passing average is 2.28 and he averages 2.83 kills per set.  Jeremias is in the top 15 Kill Leaders in the BCCAA.

 Av Ladies Close the Book on 2010-11 Campaign

Matt Coxford - Cranbrook Daily Townsman

The College of the Rockies women's team made an impression on the B.C. Colleges' Athletic Association circuit this year.

They weren't able to parlay it into match victories, but head coach Lisa Ramsey said they were getting respect from other teams for their athleticism and collectively improved play.

She said much of that came from having the depth that came with finishing the year with 12 players.

"There's that little bit of a push: 'Oh maybe she could come in for me,'" said Ramsey.

It also meant a single injury wasn't as catastrophic as it had been in the past.

"This year we were able to play different people in different positions. I think that numbers alone was huge."

Ramsey liked how the different athletes' personalities meshed. If one was straightforward and unapologetic, others were caring, and someone else brought the energy and party mood on and off the court.

"As a team, they each had a role and were able to fill that," said Ramsey. "You could see it on the court, certainly when we were playing at (Vancouver Island University in November). Their coach had said the team was getting it."

The Avs closed out their season last weekend at home, dropping a pair of straight-set losses to the fifth-place Camosun College Chargers.

 

Avs Go Through the Whole Rotation

Matt Coxford - Cranbrook Daily Townsman

Kamps said Brady Atwood is finding his swagger at the right time of the year, chipping in 13 kills.

"He had some big plays for us, and we're going to need that from him coming into provincials," said Kamps.

Coming off Player of the Week honours, Taylor Verboom collected a team-high eight blocks to go along with nine kills. Brendan Visser had nine kills in the first match.

"To be honest, I've told the guys you would think you'd know your starting line-up by the end of the year, but with these guys we have so much depth it will really be a day-to-day decision on who's going to be on the floor for us," said Kamps.

The Avalanche held onto their fifth-place ranking, which suits them fine. That seed has won the last five BCCAA championships.

The top two teams in the province - this year that means UBC Okanagan and Douglas College - get a bye to the second round of playoffs.

"It doesn't seem to give them an advantage," said Kamps. "It seems like once you find a way to win that quarterfinal match, you get confident and have a match under your belt. You carry that momentum into the semi-final to a team that's been sitting there, watching, getting nervous and waiting."

The Avalanche will open the championships next Thursday night against the No. 4 Vancouver Island University Mariners

 

Avalanche Men off to the BIG GAME!

The College of the Rockies Avalanche Men's team clinched 5th spot in the league and will advance to the Provincial Championships in Kelowna, February 24 - 26, 2011

All matches will be webcasted through sportscanada.tv and the link will be posted on the Provincial Championship website (www.goheat.ca/volleyball)

 

 

 

Taylor Verboom named BCCAA Athlete of the Week

For week ending February, 2011

Taylor Verboom, a 7'0" 3rd year middle from Radium, BC was a physical presence in both matches, continually putting balls away and putting up a large wall for the Avalanche to play defence behind.  On Friday night, the Cascades took the Av's to a 5th set where the Av's won 25-22, 12-25, 24-26, 25-19, 18-16.  Verboom's domination at the net resulted in some timely blocks including one in the 5th set to keep the Av's alive.  He would finish the night with 13 offensive points (6 kills, 6 blocks, 1 aces) and 2 digs.  In Saturday's rematch, the Av's once again played in a nail biter as the match went the distance.  COTR would again be victorious as they took the match 3-2 (23-25, 25-14, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13).  Verboom would increase his production to 18 offensive points (7 kills, 8 blocks, 3 aces) and 1 dig. 

Next up for the Avalanche  is a home stand against Camosun.  Any combination of a COTR win or Capilano loss will secure a playoff spot for the boys from Cranbrook.  Go Av's Go!

The Av's Bring their "B Game"

The  Avalanche men were looking to sweep the #5 UFV Cascades on their final road trip of the season so they brought their "B Game" .  Taylor Verboom (Radium, BC) lead his team to victory  with a huge weekend with 14 blocks and 13 kills.  David Wiebe (Creston, BC) and Jeremias Guenter (Sylvan Lake, AB) had 40 kills between the 2 of them.  The Av's B game saw them sweep the Cascades 3-2 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday.  The Av's are looking to continue their winning momentum against Camosun College on Feb 11th and 12th at College of the Rockies.

 

 Marlee Kanigan (South Slocan, BC) and Justine Rundberg (Cranbrook, BC) combined for 24 kills in their games against the Cascades, but unfortunately it wasn't enough with the Av's falling 3-1 on Friday night and 3-0 on Saturday.  With one weekend left to play the Av's are looking forward to being at home and challenging the Camosun Chargers on their own turf.  Go Av's Go!

 

Jeremias Guenter named BCCAA Athlete of the Week

Jeremias Guenter is a 6’2” first year outside player from Sylvan Lake, Alberta.  Guenter was instrumental in the Avs split this weekend versus the #2 Douglas College Royals.  He was very impressive in both matches, continually putting balls away for the Avalanche at key points in each set. On Friday night, Douglas came to town but the Avs took the match 3-2. Guenter tallied 15 kills, 2 block, 1 ace and 9 digs. In Saturday night’s rematch with the Royals, the Avs would lose 3-1. Guenter again had good numbers as he tallied 13 kills, 1 block, 2 aces and 5 digs. He finished the weekend with 28 kills, 3 blocks, 3 aces and 14 digs. He also provided the Avs with consistent passing over the weekend (2.26). 

 

Big Weekend for the Av's

(Weekly Recap from the BCCAA)  The College of the Rockies Avalanche earned a big split on the weekend against the second place team in the BCCAA, the Douglas College Royals (New Westminster). COTR was down two sets to one but recovered to take the last two games comfortably (25-20, 15-25, 24-26, 25-17, 15-5).   #7 - Jeremias Guenter (1st, Sylvan Lake, AB) had 15 kills – one of four Avalanche players with at least ten against Douglas. The Royals did manage to leave Cranbrook with a win after they closed out Saturday's game in four sets (25-21, 25-23, 18-25, 25-23). Guenter led COTR in kills for the second straight night with 13.

Libero Kellan Ward (3rd, Okotoks, AB) recorded 15 digs for the Avalanche (3-7) who have this week off. Douglas (6-2) will host UBC Okanagan in a single game on Saturday, January 22.

 It was heartbreak for the College of the Rockies (Cranbrook) as the Avalanche (0-10) dropped two five-set matches at home against the Douglas College Royals (New Westminster), who got their first two wins of the season. On Friday night, the Royals (2-6) took the match with set scores of 25-19, 23-25, 24-26, 25-18, 15-10.

Justine Rundberg (1st, Cranbrook, BC) delivered a spectacular offensive performance for COTR with 20 kills. Then on Saturday, Douglas went up two sets (25-22, 25-17) but COTR fought back to tie the match (20-25, 21-25) before the Royals re-grouped to take the decisive game by a score of 15-6.

Avalanche oh-so-close against CBC Bearcats

Matt Coxford - Cranbrook Daily Townsman

 

The College of the Rockies women's volleyball team certainly gave the fans their money's worth last weekend. They also came tantalizingly close to giving them a win.

The day after a 3-1 loss to visiting Columbia Bible College, the Avalanche were facing the same fate on Saturday but fought back to force a fifth set. There, the Bearcats took a 20-18 final-set victory.

"It sucks to lose. We really were going for that win, but I feel like after that game and how we played, we really meant it as a team and I almost feel like we won," said middle Kieren Britton. "It felt really good. We just need to be able to finish now, to move on."

The men split their matches (see full story tomorrow).

Both of the women's matches were close: on Friday night, CBC won 25-23, 25-20, 22-25 and 26-24. On Saturday afternoon, it was 21-25, 25-22, 25-16, 25-27, 20-18.

The Bearcats improved their record to 2-4 while the Avalanche are 0-6.

Avs' head coach Lisa Ramsey said her team played with a particular determination on Saturday.

"Some girls, we maybe get a set and a half out of them and then they completely have lost focus," said Ramsey. "They did really well for the whole fifth set, and in the fourth they were definitely gritty and able to really focus."

The Avalanche were trailing by five when the Bearcats reached 22 points in the fourth, and could have started clearing the table when CBC took a 24-22 lead.

Britton said they kept composed, thinking about winning one point at a time.

 

Home Opener Excitement

The Avalanche Men's and Women's teams put on quite the show for their home opener.  Playing to a sold out crowd on Friday night the women lost a to the CBC Bearcats in 4 very close sets (23-25, 20-25, 25-22, 24-26).  The crowd was then treated to a 5 set nail biter with the Av Men taking the victory!  

On Saturday, the snow tried to put a damper on the afternoon but the women continued their close games and but unfortunately lost in 5 sets to CBC (25-21, 22-25, 16-25, 27-25, 18-20).  The men took the floor and continued to battle CBC but came up short losing in 5 sets.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us in our home opener, our next home game weekend is January 14th - 15th, 2011 vs the Douglas College Royals.  Mark it on your calendars!

UBC-O serves up Heat to Av's 
 

Matt Coxford - Cranbrook Daily Townsman

White-hot serving burned the College of the Rockies men in Kelowna last weekend.

A handful of UBC-Okanagan Heat cranked up the thermostat on their jump serves, beating the Avalanche twice in straight sets.

"They're a team we can compete with, but on Friday and Saturday the way they were serving the ball would have made it difficult for any team in the country to even touch them," said COTR head coach Steve Kamps. "They had four or five guys jump serving and hitting as hard as they could, and they weren't missing."

On Friday, the Avs were limited to 19, 16 and 19 points. On Saturday, they got 18, 11 and 19.

The Avalanche's season record dropped to 1-3; the women also lost in straight sets (see more later this week).

Kamps said one member of UBC-O in particular tore the men apart on Friday.

"Most sets were 3-3, 4-4, and then he goes back and it's 12-4; I had used both timeouts and two subs," said Kamps, noting that player was a difference maker. "If you take away those eight or nine points, we probably outscored them.

"As he was serving very strong, it just gave their other jump servers that much more confidence to go back. Of course, when you do have a lead like that, there's nothing to lose so they all started hitting the ball harder on their serve."

Even the Heat's coaches told Kamps the serving performance was uncharacteristic, noting they usually miss 25 to 30 serves a match. All of last weekend, they missed about 14.

The Avs, in contrast, served tentatively with the Heat controlling the net and coming up with lots of blocks.

"At every level, it is a game of serving and passing and definitely we did not compete in those two aspects," said Kamps.

COTR also didn't help itself with on-court chatter.

"We're a pretty quiet team," said Kamps, noting that was an issue in the first match of the season against Capilano as well.

They talked their way through a 3-1 win on in the second match against Capilano, but that lesson didn't extend to last Friday's match; the Avs were quiet again despite getting off to a 4-1 lead.

The Heat had been caught off-guard - were even scared - by the Avalanche's physicality.

"We didn't do anything about it. We didn't continue to communicate during the rally. We got quiet, and you can't play quiet volleyball," said Kamps. "Then you're responding to the play afterwards."

All aspects of the game thus fell apart, with blockers not rising together, passers unsure of where to send the ball. It resulted in lots of free balls for the Heat.

"It was just very frustrating, and that's the biggest part of our game that we need to work on," said Kamps. "We can go in the gym and practice all we want, have a game plan and have video on teams and do all that preparation, but if the guys aren't prepared to communicate during the rally and work their butts off, then that's the message: we're not going to beat any team in this league."

On Saturday, Kamps said COTR's defence was better thanks to better communication; outside hitter Jeremias Gunter had a strong match.

He said middle Taylor Verboom was their best player on Friday, getting a lot of touches.

COTR Avs get down to size after exhibition

Matt Coxford (Cranbrook Daily Townsman)

The College of the Rockies men's team peaked early in exhibition play last weekend.  Hosting the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT) Ooks in three matches, the Avalanche played their best in the opening contest.

They took the first two sets but wound up going to a fifth, which they lost 19-17.

“It seemed like we played pretty well and executed. (Being) in your first exhibition game of the season, you kind of feel content, that you’re going to be good and things are going well,” said head coach Steve Kamps. “We seemed to lose our focus and energy after that.”

Kamps said that continued into the Friday evening game where they lacked passion and intensity, losing handily in three straight sets.

“It was quite painful to watch,” said Kamps. “We have the potential, it’s just some days there’s nothing. I don’t know if they were tired from a long week of training or whatever, but it just wasn’t there.”

The Ooks completed the sweep on Saturday with a 3-1 win. After that, the Avalanche released a few athletes to get down to 14 on the roster (see below).

Kamps said the exhibition games gave him and assistant coach Steven Hammond a great chance to evaluate the athletes.

“Everybody got to play on the weekend, which was great, and everybody showed signs that they can play at this level and compete for a starting position,” said Kamps. “It’s going to be great that we have this much depth. All season long we can go to different guys, it doesn’t really matter who’s on the floor. There were different guys stepping up at different moments.”

The Avalanche have proven to be quick on the uptake so far; they learned new blocking and defensive schemes in practice last week, and implemented them against the Ooks.

“I thought we blocked better than NAIT did all weekend, and that’s a good sign of things to come,” said Kamps. “(The blocking system is) completely new for most of the guys, and to see us execute this early in the year is a real positive to take from the weekend.”

COTR will now ease up after an intense stretch of volleyball that included exhibition games the previous weekend against Lethbridge College in Fernie

 

Avalanche Announce New Recruits

Rebecca Zemlak (Prince George, BC) is the newest recruit for the Avalanche Women’s volleyball team.  Rebecca, a 5'10" middle,  signed a letter of intent to play for the Avalanche following a visit to Cranbrook in early May.  Zemlak graduated from Duchess Park Secondary school in 2009 where she was captain of the senior girls team and helped lead them to a 12^th  place finish at Provincials. Rebecca brings hard work and dedication to the Avalanche team.

 

Paige Fredrickson (Sylvan Lake, AB) is a new addition to the Avalanche Women's volleyball team.  Paige played senior varsity volleyball for three years and in her final year as a member of the H.J. Cody Lakers, they were Zone Champions and advanced to 3A Provincials where they placed fourth.  Fredrickson played club volleyball for  Sylvan Lake. 

 

Boys & Girls Avalanche Volleyball Camp

Conducted by Dan Metcalf, College of the Rockies Avalanche alumni (2006-08) in cooperation with Avalanche Team coaches and players, these camps will include basic skills review, team play, offensive and defensive court positioning, mental and physical conditioning.  The camp format will include group and one on one coaching, scrimmaging, drills and games.  Indoor and outdoor courts will be used (weather permitting).

 

 

GIRLS CAMP	BOYS CAMP
For girls aged 14-16 years	For boys aged 14-16 years
Date:  August 23 to 26, 2010	Date:  August 23 to 26, 2010
Time:  9:00am - 12:00pm	Time:  1:00 - 4:00pm

 

COST:  $125 + tax (includes a t-shirt ) Minimum 12/Maximum 40

 

Fruitful Recruiting should make for good competition

Story by Matt Coxford - Cranbrook Townsman
 

The competition for spots on next year’s College of the Rockies men’s volleyball roster promises to be fierce.

Although the Avalanche have signed several players over the off-season — and have several athletes set to return from last year — head coach Steve Kamps said they will have to earn their spots.

To make sure they arrive in shape this fall, Kamps is encouraging his players to participate in as many beach volleyball tournaments as possible this summer. He has also given them weight-lifting plans.

“I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that they’re all doing that on their own,” he said. “It will be pretty easy to tell who wasn’t doing it in September, and we could have as many as 17 guys trying out for the team and there are only 14 spots on the roster. Even a veteran guy — if he chose not to do what he needed to do over the summer — might be on the outside looking in.”

Back after a two-year hiatus, Kamps is very pleased with how recruiting has gone this summer. The Avalanche hosted an I.D. camp in May, which drew 17 players. They signed several of them, including Brodie Flis , who had played for his hometown University of Regina Cougars.           

 

Trio of Albertans to join the Avs

The Avalanche are pleased to announce the signing of three Alberta athletes who will add experience and depth to the left side position.  Dan Miedema (6’2”), Brendan Visser (6’2”), and Jeremias Guenter (6’2”) will be joining the Avs for the 2010-2011 season.

 

Dan Miedema (Calgary, Alberta) attended the Calgary Christian High School and as the captain led them to a 2^nd place finish in their league.  Dan has had numerous All Star awards throughout his high school and club career and recently finished in the top 10 at the U-18 National Championships with Canuck Stuff.  He was a member of the U17 Alberta Provincial indoor & beach volleyball teams. Dan is excited about the opportunities at College of the Rockies and will be studying biological sciences.

 

Jeremias Guenter (Red Deer, Alberta) attended Notre Dame High School where he received the Athlete of the Year Award.  After graduating in 2008, Jeremias went to Switzerland for a season of intensive volleyball and attended the Swiss Volley Talent School. Jeremias is excited to join the Avs and will continue his studies in sciences at College of the Rockies.

 

 

 

Brendan Visser (Calgary, Alberta) attended the Springbank Community High School  where he received numerous volleyball awards.  He was the MVP for his Springbank team and also received MVP and All Star honours for the Rocky View School Division.  Brendan has enjoyed success at every level achieving medals each year from U-14 to U-18 playing for Canuck Stuff and Elite West, including his latest bronze medal at the U-18 National Championships. He was also a member of the U-17 Alberta Provincial indoor and beach volleyball teams.  Brendan is looking to further his studies in the sciences and to follow in his parent’s footsteps in earth sciences.

 

Prince George Athlete Signs with the Avalanche

Nick Dolman (5’10” – libero) was the captain of the Prince George Kodiaks club team for the past 4 years and captain of his senior team at Duchess Park High School this past year.    He has been named to numerous all star teams throughout his high school career, including 1st Team All Star recognition at the NCDSAA senior boys zones in grades 10-12. As a member of the Duchess Park Condors he achieved four consecutive provincial berths including two Top 5 finishes.  Nick is looking forward to attending College of the Rockies and will be taking courses leading to a future in engineering.

 

Avalanche Land Former Team Saskatchewan Player

College of the Rockies is excited to announce that Brodie Flis of Regina, Saskatchewan has committed to the Avalanche volleyball program for the 2010-2011 season. 

As a leader and captain for the Winston Knoll Collegiate Wolverines, Brodie led the Wolverines to a high school championship playoff berth for four straight years. His club career included five seasons with the Regina Volleyball Club culminating in a top ten finish at the Canadian 18U National Championships; an achievement never accomplished by any Regina men’s team in the past.

Brodie was a member of Team Saskatchewan where he competed in both the National Team Challenge Cup and the Western Canada Summer Games. 

After playing a rookie season with the University of Regina Cougars, A 6’5” left handed setter, Brodie is looking forward to joining the Avalanche and hopes his experience and leadership will contribute to the Avalanche’s future success and their goal of securing a post-season berth in 2011. Brodie is enrolled in the Recreation Management program. 

Steve Kamps returns as Men's Head Coach

After two years away from coaching, Steve Kamps is returning to the College of the Rockies’ men’s Avalanche volleyball team as Coach for the 2010/11 season. This will be his tenth season as Head Coach of the Avalanche during which he compiled a record of 80-48 (.600). Under his direction the Avs qualified for provincials in eight straight seasons and received a top 10 national ranking in five of his nine years as Head Coach.