A new season of Canada West women’s volleyball gets served up this Friday, and it’s anyone’s guess as to which team is going to emerge on top in early March. The Brandon University Bobcats women’s team is in Saskatoon Friday and Saturday against the University of Saskatchewan Huskies.
CW coaches were split in what proved to be one of the closest pre-season coaches polls in recent memory. Five teams received first place votes, including University of the Fraser Valley, Alberta, UBC, Manitoba and Trinity Western.
The UFV Cascades narrowly took top spot, garnering four first-place votes. The Cascades are looking to take another step forward after a quarterfinals appearance last season, and will be led by the reigning CW and U SPORTS women’s volleyball player of the year in outside hitter Gabrielle Attieh.
Attieh led the nation in kills and points last season, while becoming only the fifth player in CW history to eclipse the 400 kill mark in a single season. A threat on both offence and defence, the Surrey, B.C. product also finished seventh in the conference in digs.
Placing second in the poll were the Manitoba Bisons, who return their entire roster and will be led by hometown product Raya Surinx. Last year’s U SPORTS Rookie of the Year played a massive role in helping the Bisons advance to nationals last season for the first time since 2014.
2023-24 CW WVB PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Team – Points (First-place votes)
Fraser Valley Cascades – 153 (4)
Manitoba Bisons – 143 (3)
UBC Thunderbirds – 141 (3)
Alberta Pandas – 137 (3)
Trinity Western Spartans – 116 (1)
UBCO Heat – 112
Calgary Dinos – 103
Thompson Rivers WolfPack – 79
Mount Royal Cougars – 78
Saskatchewan Huskies – 74
Winnipeg Wesmen – 59
MacEwan Griffins – 39
Regina Cougars – 27
Brandon Bobcats – 13
(Article courtesy of the Brandon University Bobcats)
