Trent Excalibur add experienced recruits

Men’s volleyball team coach says the future looks bright for underdog team

Trent Excalibur men’s volleyball is striving for better days and their 2020 recruits are a big part of that.

Coming off their first year with the program head coach Uwe Dienst and assistant coach Tyler Scheerhoorn worked hard to add eight quality recruits to a foundation laid in 2019-20.

It’s been a rough ride for the Excalibur since joining Ontario University Athletics (OUA) in 2016-17 after 12 years in the Ontario Colleges Athletic Association (OCAA). Trent didn’t win a game the first three seasons and picked up their first and only win in 2019-20.

“When Trent joined the league they weren’t ready. They were definitely a college team,” said Scheerhoorn, who played three years of pro volleyball in Austria and Luxembourg.

“Most university teams would put their bench on. This season, none of the schools were putting their benches on and we were competing with all of them. It’s tough to see it in the win-loss column but we actually have the respect of all the programs now.”

To take the next step Scheerhoorn said they had to improve their recruiting.

“We worked really hard to get guys with high volleyball IQs who had been coached by good coaches and just understand the game,” he said, “so that it’s not that big of an adjustment when they come to play at the university level and can already bring expertise. It’s why three of our recruits are transfers from other post-secondary schools.”

Dienst also comes from a professional background and they’ve tried to instil a pro-environment. They also sold recruits on a unique opportunity at Trent.

“It’s the underdog story. Instead of just having it be what it is, have people who have won at high levels before coming in to be part of a new challenge rather than having lower tier recruits. Now we have people who are excited about the challenge and ready for it,” Scheerhoorn said.

It’s a challenge the coaches embrace, too.

“If you have everyone on the same page and the culture is good and you work hard and are humble you’re going to find success at some point. You just have to keep pushing.”

The new recruits include Adrian Kalyniuk, of Ile Des Chenes. Manitoba, a six-foot setter, Calgary’s Michael Sherbut, a six-foot, setter and six-foot-six middle blocker Jacob Wiseman of Clarenville, N.L.

Ontario recruits include Cambridge’s Bryson Meadus, a six-footthree outside hitter, Pickering’s Ethan Earle, a six-foot-four middle blocker, Toronto’s Mark Szczubial, a six-foot-three opposite, Ajax’s Peyton Lee, a six-foot-one outside attacker and Brampton’s Osemi Efosa a six-foot-five middle blocker.

Sherbut has played at Queens and York universities and has played in the ONE Volleyball Premier League.

“He has a wealth of knowledge and ample experience. We’re really excited to have him come into our program,” Scheerhoorn said.

Kalyniuk played at Providence University College in Otterburne, Man., and Efosa played two years at Sheridan College.

“It allows us to have more mature recruits. It’s a big difference between 18 and 21,” Scheerhoorn said. “We’re excited for them to make a difference for us right away.”

Wiseman is the fourth player from Newfoundland to join the program in recent years. Nick Taylor just graduated as their MVP while Chris Leroy and Isaac Avery, coming off rookie seasons, played with Wiseman back home and helped recruit him.

“We’re excited because this class has a healthy mix of guys who can help us win now but also guys we can build a program around for years to come,” Scheerhoorn said. “There are a lot of high volleyball IQ guys who have played club for many years and have a good understanding. Our hope is that at Trent we can push them to the next level and take them to a whole other place.

“The future looks very bright.”