Kodiak men’s volleyball working towards meshing new roster together

By Lethbridge Herald on October 24, 2023.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

The Lethbridge College Kodiaks men’s volleyball team are going into a new season with a lot of new faces to mesh together on the court. 

“Yeah it’s been a really great start for our group,” said Greg Gibos, head coach.

“We have a lot of new bodies. So for us, we’re used to really bringing in four to five and this year we’re closer to seven or eight. So just a little bit of a different group, different mix and so I’ve been really thrilled with their intention and their ability to like start to set the standard at a really high level. We pride ourselves on being a program that comes ready to work hard, working  really hard in communication and most of all, just being  … good, effective teammates.”

The Kodiaks lost both of their starting middle blockers in Cam Piers and Adam Revet.

“Anytime you have to start with new middles, (it) does definitely make for a bit of learning curve for some of these athletes,” he said. 

“They’re so important, especially in men’s volleyball, for blocking and defending and just being an offensive presence. So really excited to  see some new guys and some fresh blood in that position. So it’s a tough job to fill but we have faith in the bodies that are in there.”

Tyson Johnson along with what Gibos considers to be the three best first year  middle blockers in Kohlbe Anderson from Delaware, Marshall Qually and Karl Petkar will be tasked with helping  fill the void.

The Kodiaks also lost their starting centre in Nash Shipton.

That’s our quarterback,” said Gibos.

“So, we’ve got a brand new person kind of experiencing that role. So we’re excited to see how both of those positions really look here for ’23-24.”

The Kodiaks will be a strong serve/pass team and have stability at the outsides and libero positions.

“So really like the first contact should be very strong for us this year which should give a relatively new setter the opportunity to run his offence that he wants,” said Gibos.

“And I truly think that we do have some of the best middles in the conference. So they maybe be young and people might not know a lot of information about them. But we’re really excited to see how that group of four develops this season because I think it’s going to be one of our biggest strengths.”

Tyler Chernishenko is in his fourth year on the team and is excited about this year’s roster of the new players.

“These guys brought a lot of talent in there,” he said.

“And they can step on the floor any time we need and it’s super cool to see them come in and compete every day and bring up our level no matter what.”

Chernishenko sees the team as a great group of guys.

“Like our team, this year especially, is just super excited to play together ,and mesh and learn from each other,” he said.

“We all have differences and we all have things we’re good at and I’m super excited to see how each guy can bring everything that they’ve worked on and incorporate in a group setting.”

The Kodiaks started the season with three set wins over Ambrose on Friday and Saturday respectively.

The team will be back on the court Nov. 4 when they host University of Alberta-Augustana at 3 p.m.