Every year, since the hiring of current Men’s Volleyball Head Coach Gabriel deGroot in the 2018-19 season, the Gaels have been a perennial OUA championship contender.
However, despite winning back-to-back provincial championships during deGroot’s first two years at the helm, the team has fallen short since the COVID-19 cancelled season.
This year’s no different. With the team finishing second in the OUA standings, the Gaels are in a prime position to make a deep playoff run.
The team’s first test of the postseason came on Feb. 21 with a home court quarterfinal matchup against the seventh seeded Guelph Gryphons.
Fresh off the Reading Week break, the team wasted no time igniting their playoff campaign with a hard-fought 25-22 victory in the opening set. Though they stumbled in the second, falling 20-25, they rallied in a thrilling third set, edging out a 29-27 win. Sealing the deal with a decisive 25-21 triumph in the fourth, the Gaels secured their spot in the semifinals, setting up a showdown against the Western Mustangs.
The team was led by two veterans, graduating athletes Zig Licis, Sci ’25, and Dax Tompkins, ArtSci ’25. Licis recorded the game high in kills and aces, with 17 and three respectively, Tompkins providing the defensive presence with a team leading five blocks.
“We’ve done a pretty good job of putting ourselves in a good playoff position. […] Home court advantage is huge for us. We have a much higher record at home than we do on the road over the last probably five years,” deGroot said in an interview with The Journal prior to the first playoff game.
A playoff run comes with a lot of anxiety and pressure, especially in a single elimination format. Oftentimes, it can be easy to focus on results when a loss can end a season, however deGroot pushes a process-focused approach for his players.
“We just try to preach that as long as they stick to the process that’s gotten them here, the results will take care of itself,” deGroot added.
This Gaels team represents a younger squad than previous years, a large contingent of the core starting players being only in their third year. The postseason usually is overwhelming for players without the experience, however despite the team’s age, years of success have given the team plenty of learning moments.
“For a third-year group, this is a group that does have quite a bit of playoff experience and success in the playoffs,” deGroot said.
“There’s experience already in the room, and I think as much as I can kind of guide the team to their own conversations about it and how they manage their own emotions and their own preparation is ultimately kind of my goal,” he added.
Their preparation has led them to make large strides in improving many aspects of their game, including their serving, and attacking.
“Our serving game has actually improved quite drastically over the second half. Over the last two weekends, we were down to about 24 per cent on service errors, which is down from 33 per cent going into the second half,” deGroot emphasized.
Now with only two regular season games left, it comes down to perfecting the process and practice the team has put in place for the entire season.
“You’re kind of just fine tuning your systems and making sure everyone knows their responsibilities and hoping that we can kind of execute at a higher level going into this last stretch,” deGroot said.
The goal of any program is winning championships, both at the provincial and national level, but championships don’t come overnight.
Though the team hasn’t brought home a trophy post COVID-19, they’ve made large developmental strides; last year’s USPORTS semi-final appearance was the first for the team since 2012.
This year, the team hopes to take another step and reach the USPORTS finals. However, for coach deGroot, through all the goals and expectations, it comes down to trusting the process, and the results will follow.
“My ultimate goal would be for us to play the best volleyball we can in March and to win our last game. If we’re winning our last game of the season, it means we’ve done a really good thing.”
You can watch Men’s Volleyball attempt to secure a spot in the OUA Championship and USPORTS final eight against the Western Mustangs this Friday at 7 p.m. in the ARC, or at OUA.tv.
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