The University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball program has reloaded its roster, signing six new recruits in preparation for the 2018-19 campaign.
All six recruits hail from B.C., and five are 2018 high school graduates: outside hitters Shubdeep Wander (Mission), Jackson Obst (Kelowna) and Ethan Lapointe (Abbotsford); libero Elijah St-Germain (Surrey); and middle Andres Barrero. Additionally, setter Bobby Blaskovits (Kelowna) is transferring to UFV from Douglas College.
“This will be a good group for us,” Cascades head coach Kyle Donen said.
“We needed to add depth in key areas for our team moving forward, and I think each guy has the potential to bring something significant to the table. I could see several of them making a major impact for us in the fall.”
Lapointe, a Yale Secondary grad, begins his post-secondary volleyball career with his hometown program. He was part of the Orangemen Volleyball Club squad coached by Donen, and drew his future university bench boss’s attention with his outstanding athleticism.
“I really like his physicality,” Donen enthused. “There’s some fine-tuning that we want to do to his game, but I like the physical start that he’s at and I’m excited to give him some new tools and perspective on what’s to come. Having coached him this year, I think he’s ready to adapt to the challenge that’s coming.”
“I had a couple of options as far as playing volleyball, but I chose UFV because, first, it was local and had a great reputation as far as its business program,” Lapointe said.
“Second, I had been coached by Kyle in my last year of club volleyball and felt that with Kyle as my coach, I would be able to become an even better player. I’ve also had the chance to meet a few of the current players at UFV and I get the sense that it’s a great team atmosphere and that’s something that’s important to me.”