Cougars’ Men’s Volleyball Announce Award Winners

Assiniboine Cougars Athletics are proud to announce our 2019-20 Men's Volleyball Award winners. Assiniboine's annual Student Achievement Celebration recognizes the impressive achievements of students across both the academic and athletic calendars. This year, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Student Achievement Celebration event will not take place in the traditional format.

The men's volleyball team, coached by Joel Small, Brendan White, and Sam Isfeld, ended the regular season with nine wins and 11 losses to place third in the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference (MCAC) League.

The Men's Volleyball Most Valuable Player is awarded to Braden Campbell who, over the last three seasons has become one of the best left side in the MCAC. MCAC announced the 2019-20 Men's All-Conference Team with Braden included for his impressive, league-leading 233 kills. Braden also had an outstanding 25 aces and 69 digs in the regular season to cap off a stellar year.

"Braden led our team and the league in kills, he was top five in digs and ultimately created a huge problem for our opponents," said coach Small.

Braden has progressively built a reputation in the MCAC for his ability to score from difficult positions and maintain his intensity during high-pressure situations.

"Braden was our most consistent passer and a great attacker. I loved Braden's competitive spirit, as he always worked hard and challenged his teammates to be their best."

The Men's Volleyball Coaches Choice award goes to diverse attacker Lucas Vasconcelos. Lucas was invaluable to the team throughout the season, playing all three attacking positions at a high level.

"Lucas came to practice every day with a positive attitude looking to make the team better. He soaked up all the information given to him by our coaching team and worked hard to better himself each day," said Small.

His skills transferred off the court as well with strong leadership skills and a level headed approach to all situations.

"Lucas bought into the team philosophy and was a leader on and off the court."

The Men's Volleyball Most Improved is awarded to setter Justin Ejercito. Justin committed to improving his performance with every practice and was essential to the team's overall improvement.

"Justin found himself being asked to slide into the backup setter role this year and he amazed us with how hard he worked and how quickly he improved," said coach Small.

"Without Justin stepping up and working so hard, our team would not have seen the amount of success that we had."