Bison volleyball team head coach Ken Bentley proudly introduced three Manitoban recruits who will join the reigning national champions next season: outside hitter Lexi Janovcik, left side hitter Kalena Schulz and outside hitter Tori Studler.
All three recruits have extensive experience at both the high school and club levels; Janovcik and Schulz were teammates with the Cobras Volleyball Club, winning the U18 provincial and national championships in 2014.
Janovcik was recruited from Westgate Mennonite Collegiate. Last season, she and the Westgate Wings fought their way to a final four berth in the Manitoba High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) AAAA post-season. For her contribution to the team, Janovcik was named to the MHSAA Graduating All-Star Team for the 2013-2014 season.
Schulz went to Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute (MBCI), and was team captain for her graduating year. As captain, Schulz helped lead the MBCI Hawks to their first-ever women’s volleyball MHSAA AAAA championship victory.
On top of being a stellar athlete, Schulz has excelled academically. She was one of four recipients of the Dr. Dale Iwanoczko Memorial Volleyball Scholarship, awarded this past February.
Studler was recruited out of Brandon, where she played high school volleyball for the Neelin High School Spartans. A native of Grosse Isle, Man., Studler played a huge role in the Spartans’ success in 2013-2014, helping to secure a berth in the MHSAA AAAA championship with a 12-kill performance in the semifinals. Studler is also big into club volleyball, and played against Schulz and Janovcik in the U18 provincial championship final.
“I am very pleased with the calibre of these recruits and they are another example of how strong our development system is in Manitoba,” coach Bentley told bisonsports.ca.
“All three are exceptional student-athletes and come into our program with a strong base of skill and understanding of the game.”
On Friday, June 6, the Manitoba Bison men’s golf team captured their first-ever Canadian University/College Championship with a +5 overall team score (293-287-285-292 = 1157).
In the deciding round of play, Manitoba posted a team total of +4 (292). They were consistent all week long, shooting under 300 in all four rounds, the only team to do so.
In the overall men’s leaderboard, team captain Josh Wytinck was the top Bison at +1 and finished in fourth place.
“I’m most proud that it was a team win – everyone contributed,” Wytinck told the Manitoban shortly after the tournament.
“That can be tough to do, having everyone perform at the same time. It was nice to win by 12, kind of puts an exclamation on the win as well, as opposed to one or two.”
Scott Mazur and Bryce Barr both tied for fifth with a +3, while Charlie Boyechko and Brodie Gobin tied for 16th.
Manitoba’s best results prior to winning the championship came in 2004 and 2006 when they finished in third place both times.
“We’ve had lots of great teams over the years, but this is the hardest-working team and it is a great feeling to see all their hard work pay off with this success,” head coach Garth Goodbrandson told bisonsports.ca.
“They really deserved this victory. After the way they handled themselves in the third round, we had all the confidence in the world going into round four. It was an excellent result on the final day.”
