FORMER SPARTAN PLAYING IN THE SANDBOX

Steven Marshall

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL (ANNOUNCEMENT)
THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2010
BEACH VOLLEYBALL

FORMER SPARTAN PLAYING IN THE SANDBOX

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LANGLEY, British Columbia – Steven Marshall is hitting the beach this summer and doing so in a big way.

The former TWU Spartan from Abbotsford, B.C., who was fourth in Canada West last year with 251 kills in 17 conference matches, is taking his game to the sand this summer and fall as he has joined Calgary's Ben Saxton to create one of the best beach tandems in the country.

“I really like playing with Ben and we have very similar styles of playing,” Marshall said. “We both don't like to not being able to do something and I think that really helps us push each other and get better individually and as a team.”

Marshall partnered with Saxton in mid-July after the latter had split from Kelowna’s Jessi Lelliot and the pair just recently played in their first FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) event in Marseille, France from July 20-25. Despite not qualifying for the main event -- they won their first game but were knocked out after losing their second -- Marshall is confident it won’t be long before he and Saxton are in the money.

“Having just finished playing in my first FIVB event I feel really good about where we are at. We obviously have a lot of work to do to reach our goals, but after seeing how we matched up against the best in the world this week, we are definitely not far off. I expect we will qualify for the main draw in one of our two final FIVB events of the summer in Finland and Norway.”

And along with those FIVB events, the rest of the beach season is shaping up to be a busy one for Marshall and Saxton.

This weekend, they will play in the Center of Gravity tournament in Kelowna (July 30-Aug. 1) where Marshall said their goal is to win the whole event and take home the $3,000 top prize.

After the Center of Gravity competition, the pair will go back to Europe for two FIVB events in Kristiansand, Norway (Aug. 10-15) and Aland, Finland (Aug. 17-22) before returning to Canada for nationals in Toronto (Aug. 27-29). They then plan on playing in three NORCECA (North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation) events in Mexico (Tijuana from Sept. 22-27, Manzanillo from Sept. 29-Oct. 4 and Puerto Vallarta from Oct. 13-18) to wrap up the season.

Last year while playing for TWU, Marshall led the Spartans with 403 kills and 27 service aces in 25 matches overall and was second on the team with 214 digs (Jarrod Offereins had 245).

About TWU:

Trinity Western University, located in Langley, B.C., is a not-for-profit Christian liberal arts university enrolling over 4,000 students this year. With a broad based, liberal arts and sciences curriculum, the University offers undergraduate degrees in 41 major areas of study ranging from business, education and computer science to biology and nursing, and 17 other graduate degrees including counselling psychology, theology and administrative leadership. For more information, visit TWU's Official Athletics site at gospartans.ca.

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport:

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-two universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. The CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, and 32 World University Championships. For further information, visit www.universitysport.ca.

About CWUAA:

"Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year since 1997-98. Comprised of 13 schools, from Manitoba to B.C., the CWUAA produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in events such as the Olympics or Universiade Games."

-TW-

Last Updated: 2010-07-29
Author: Mark Janzen