April 18, 2011 - Bearcats Claw Their Way to Their First CCAA Men’s Championship

A new power has emerged in men’s volleyball, as the Columbia Bible College Bearcats of Abbotsford, B.C., claimed their first CCAA Championships in Sherbrooke, Quebec, in mid-March. There were many other firsts, too.

The Bearcats stunned the rival University of British Columbia Okanagan (UBCO) Heat in the final, winning in straight sets. Two of the three games went long, though, finishing 31-29, 25-15 and 28-26. To make it the more memorable, it was Columbia’s first ever win over UBCO.

“To win a national championship is something we believed we could do,” said Columbia coach Rocky Olfert. “We just went out and played Bearcats ball, and I’m just so proud of the team.”

Columbia and UBC Okanagan had battled for gold just two weeks before in the BCCAA tournament. UBCO won that match in four sets, but the Bearcats’ near miss earned them a wildcard berth in what was also their first CCAA Championships.

Seeded sixth, the Bearcats had their work cut out for them from the outset. They faced the third-seeded Sherbrooke Volontaires in their opener. The Volontaires had just wrested Quebec’s RSEQ title from the Limoilou Titans, the four-time defending champions. Sherbrooke also had home court advantage. But that didn’t deter the Bearcats, who won in straight sets, two of which were one-sided.

Next up for Colombia was the Briercrest College and Seminary Clippers, who appeared unstoppable. The Clippers had humbled Red Deer College to take their first-ever ACAC championship, then edged defending title holder Limoilou in the opening round.

It wasn’t easy, but in the end it was the Beacats winning in five, by scores of 17-25, 25-14, 25-22, 18-25 and 15-8. Columbia’s performance did not go unnoticed by Leigh Goldie, the CCAA national men’s volleyball convenor. “CBC’s game continually improved the last few weeks of the regular season, and they peaked at the right time,” said Goldie.

“To come from a sixth-seed wildcard spot and defeat opponents for the Alberta and Quebec conferences is a great accomplishment.”

The gold-medal matchup marked the first time in 20 years that an Alberta team was not in the final and it was also the first all-B.C. CCAA men’s final. While Columbia may have been an outsider, UBCO was anything but.

After topping the CCAA rankings for most of the season ,the Heat were seeded first in the tournament, thanks in no small part to fourth-year setter Preston Tucker. He was named the CCAA Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year at the opening night banquet.

UBCO got it going by thumping the University of King’s College Blue Devils, who were representing the Atlantic conference, 25-16, 25-16 and 25-17. The heat then rallied down Ontario championship Humber College, winning 23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-22.

The tilt for national supremacy opened with a nail-biting set that “could’ve gone either way,” says Goldie. Columbia was an easy winner in the second, but trailed 23-19 in the third. A fourth game seemed imminent, until the Bearcats dug deeper.

First year outside hitter Will Quiring led Columbia with 19 kills in the final, and was subsequently named tournament MVP. Emmanuel Denguessi and Matt Kaminski were named to the First All-Star Team, and Justin Wood to the Second.

All in all, not a bad weekend’s work for an institution whose student population numbers less than 500.