Kodiak men’s volleyball finds growth in first semester

By Lethbridge Herald on December 13, 2023.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

The Lethbridge College Kodiaks men’s volleyball team had seen growth throughout the roster in the first half.

“Yeah, we’re really proud of the group,” said Greg Gibos head coach.

“The group this year came in really focused and really intentional from the start. So really it’s giving our guys a really good opportunity to come together, connect and September was such a good month for us. And I’m really happy with how energetic and how enthusiastic they are for the team, to be a Kodiak and to really progress as a group.”

The team has dealt with having a large recruiting class well to this point.

“In our end, I think we’re starting like five new pieces from last year right,” said Gibos.

“So five out of  seven guys are brand new to the starting line-up. So anytime you can go and beat nationally ranked teams and be 6-3 at the break I think is a positive and I think our guys would even say that they would want more.”

Gibos has liked how the team has responded when adversity has hit them.

“We have lots of injuries over the course of the semester and lots of moving pieces around and every turn that we’ve had a little bit of failure, our athletes have really responded in a positive and cohesive way,” said Gibos.

“I think that speaks to how much they care about each other and how much they’re driven to be a group and to make sure that they represent the Kodiaks the best way they can.”

Gibos felt this young team has built some resilience in the first half.

“Volleyball is a major momentum sport and for a lot of us, we don’t know how we’re going to respond when the moment gets really big,” said Gibos.

“For a lot of our athletes, they did a really good job of working at that.”

Nolan Moes has lead the way for the team in first semester.

“He’s across the leaderboard in everything and I think those matches against Red Deer showed  that he is one of the best players in the country,” said Gibos.

“But his biggest area of growth is him as a leader. If someone is  struggling, he’s been able to lift them up and really help build them up in moments of stress. I think for Nolan, like he would attribute that to being his biggest growth this season is that he is the leader by definition.”

Gibos has had guys like Ty Chernishenko step up.

“He’s primarily a libero but he’s been taken some left side reps for us and he’s another athlete who is teaching athletes what it takes to win at this level,” said Gibos.

Paul Dionne is considered the catalyst on the team’s right side.

“He’s an older guy playing in his first year with us,” he said.

“But he does a really good job of conveying messages to his teammates.”

Gibos has seen the first year middles of Kohlbe Anderson and Marshall Qually come a long way in first semester.

“I’d say middle blocker is the toughest position in the ACAC on the men’s side and we’ve got two first year guys doing it and I think they’re both probably in the running for a conference all-star,” said Gibos.

The Kodiaks will start second semester with a four-game road trip.

“So for us, it’s really going to test our mettle and like make sure that we can perform in a gym that’s not ours,” said Gibos.