Player of the Year Award | |
---|---|
Sport | Indoor volleyball |
League | U Sports |
First awarded | 1980 to Terry Danyluk |
Most recent | Derek Epp, Trinity Western Spartans |
Website | usports.ca |
The U Sports Men's Volleyball Player of the Year is awarded annually to the men's volleyball player of the year in U Sports (previously named Canadian Interuniversity Sport). [1] [2] No player has won the award more than twice and only two players have accomplished the feat (Terry Danyluk in 1980 and 1981; Darcy Busse in 1984 and 1986). [1] The Alberta Golden Bears program has featured the most winners with nine and all nine of those recipients were either coached by Danyluk or were Danyluk himself. [1] [3] Following the cancellation of the 2020-21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no award winner in 2021. [4]
The University of Saskatchewan began in 1907 and has operated teams that compete with others since 1911. The term Huskie Athletics is defined as those student athletes from the University of Saskatchewan that compete in elite interuniversity competition administered by U Sports and its members, both as regions and as individual institutions.
The UBC Thunderbirds are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia in the University Endowment Lands just outside the city limits of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. In Canadian intercollegiate competition, the Thunderbirds are the most successful athletic program both regionally in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association, and nationally in U Sports.
The Guelph Gryphons are the athletic teams that represent the University of Guelph in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of the U Sports and, where applicable, in the west division. The university teams are often referred to as the Gryphs, which is short for the school's mascot, Gryph, the gryphon.
The Alberta Golden Bears and Pandas are the sports teams that represent the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Alberta athletics teams have won a total of 93 national championships, including 79 U Sports sanctioned sports, making it one of the most successful programs in the country.
The Dalhousie Tigers are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The Tigers field 14 varsity teams with seven men's teams and seven women's teams that primarily compete in the Atlantic University Sport conference of U Sports. The university also offers numerous intramural and club sports that are available to students, staff, alumni, and Dalpex members.
The UPEI Panthers are the men's and women's athletic teams that represent the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The UPEI Panthers have teams playing in the Atlantic University Sport (AUS) conference of the U Sports, including men's and women's ice hockey, soccer, basketball, cross country running as well as women's rugby. The women's field hockey team competes in an Atlantic league where the winner is then allowed to compete in the U Sports playoffs. UPEI also offers a club-level men's rugby team.
The Trinity Western Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Trinity Western University in Langley, British Columbia. The university's teams are members of U Sports, and compete in the Canada West Universities Athletics Association, and where applicable, in the Pacific division.
The Ryerson Rams are the varsity athletic teams that represent Ryerson University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Ryerson operates 11 men's and women's varsity teams that compete provincially as part of Ontario University Athletics (OUA) and nationally as part of U Sports.
The Windsor Lancers are the varsity athletic teams that represent the University of Windsor in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The school's varsity program supports 9 different sports. Their mascot is a lancer and the team's colours are blue and gold. The varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics provincial conference and the national U Sports organization. The school joined the Ontario-Quebec Athletic Association in 1952.
The York Lions is the official name for the athletic varsity teams that represent York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's varsity teams compete in the Ontario University Athletics conference of U Sports and, where applicable, in the east division. The Lion's logo features a red lion from the school's logo with the university's colours, red and white.
April Elizabeth Ross is an American beach volleyball player and three-time Olympic medalist. She won a silver medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics with Jennifer Kessy, a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics with Kerri Walsh Jennings, and a gold medal at 2020 Summer Olympics with Alix Klineman. Ross and Kessy were also the 2009 Beach Volleyball World Champions.
The UBC Okanagan Heat are the athletic teams that represent the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Kelowna, British Columbia and currently compete in the Canada West conference of U Sports. The Heat field varsity teams in basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and volleyball.
Graham Saxton Vigrass is a Canadian male volleyball player. He is a member of the Canadian men's national volleyball team. He was a participant in two Summer Olympic Games, 2016 and 2020, a bronze medallist at the 2015 Pan American Games, a bronze medallist in the 2017 FIVB Volleyball World League and a gold medallist at the 2015 Men's NORCECA Volleyball Championship.
The Asian Men's Volleyball Championship is an international volleyball competition in Asia and Oceania contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), the sport's continent governing body. The initial gap between championships was four years, but since 1987 they have been awarded every two years. The current champion is Iran, which won its fourth title at the 2021 tournament.
Terry Danyluk is the general manager for the Alberta Golden Bears men's volleyball team and is a former Canadian volleyball player. He was previously the head coach for the Golden Bears men's volleyball team for 26 seasons where he won six U Sports National Championships and won one National Championship as an assistant coach. He played CIAU men's volleyball for the Golden Bears from 1978 to 1981 where he won his first national championship and was twice named the U Sports Men's Volleyball Player of the Year.
The U Sports women's volleyball championship is an annual tournament that features the top eight women's volleyball teams from among competing Canadian universities in U Sports. 11 games are played over a period of three days culminating in a national championship being awarded. The championship trophy, first awarded in 1977, features a two-wheeled oxcart, symbolizing the pioneer era on the Red River in Manitoba. The 2019 champions are the UBC Thunderbirds, who have also won the most championships with a total of 12, including six in a row from 2008 to 2013. The 2020 and 2021 championship tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U Sports men's volleyball championship is an annual tournament that features the top eight men's volleyball teams from among competing Canadian universities in U Sports. 11 games are played over a period of three days culminating in a national championship being awarded. The champion is awarded the Tantramar Trophy, named after the Tantramar Marshes in New Brunswick, which was donated in 1967 by Mount Allison University. The 2019 champions are the Trinity Western Spartans, who have won six championships in program history, including three in the last four years. The Manitoba Bisons and Winnipeg Wesmen have won the most championships with both schools having won ten times. The 2020 and 2021 championship tournaments were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Trinity Western Spartans men's volleyball team is a university varsity volleyball program in Canada that represents Trinity Western University, competing in the Canada West Universities Athletics Association of U Sports. Based out of Langley, British Columbia, the Spartans play their home games at the Langley Events Centre, a multi-sport facility close to the main campus. Led by then head coach Ron Pike, the Spartans won their first ever National Championship in 2006, defeating the University of Alberta Golden Bears in the final by a score of 3–0. Since then, the Spartans have won five more championships, for a total of six, hoisting the Tantramar Trophy again in 2011, 2012, 2016, 2017, and 2019. Since 2007, the Spartans have been led by head coach Ben Josephson. In the Canada West conference, the Spartans have won the league title six times, taking the conference championship in 2007, 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020.
The Mary Lyons Award is awarded annually to the women's volleyball player of the year in U Sports. The award is named after Mary Lyons who served as president of the Ontario-Quebec Women’s Conference Intercollegiate Association (OQWCIA) and the Ontario Women’s Intercollegiate Athletic Association (OWIAA), and as a director of the Canadian Women's Interuniversity Athletic Union (CWIAU) and the Canadian Interuniversity Athletic Union (CIAU). Lyons, a graduate of Queen's University and the State University of New York, also served as Co-ordinator of Women's Interuniversity Athletics at York University for 26 years and coached the York Yeowomen volleyball team for seven years.
U Sports men's volleyball is the highest level of amateur play of men's indoor volleyball in Canada and operates under the auspices of U Sports. Thirty-one teams from Canadian universities are divided into three athletic conferences, drawing from the three of the four regional associations of U Sports: Canada West Universities Athletic Association (CW), Ontario University Athletics (OUA), and Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ). The Atlantic University Sport (AUS) formerly featured men's volleyball as a U Sports championship sport, but it was removed following the 2017–18 season. The 31 participating teams compete in a regular season and following intra-conference playoffs, eight teams are selected to play in a national tournament to compete for the U Sports men's volleyball championship.