DEFENDING CHAMP CALGARY SEEDED NO. 1-Host Spartans at No.4 open with No.5 Golden Bears

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL (2011 CIS CHAMPIONSHIP)
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2011
SEEDING ANNOUNCEMENT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DEFENDING CHAMP CALGARY SEEDED NO. 1
-Host Spartans at No.4 open with No.5 Golden Bears

OTTAWA (CIS) – The defending national champion Calgary Dinos are heading into the 2011 Canadian Interuniversity Sport men’s volleyball championship as tournament favourites.

Championship website: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/mvball

The seeding was announced Sunday for the CIS tourney set to kick off Friday at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C. The gold-medal final of the eight-team competition is scheduled for next Sunday, March 6, at 6 p.m. Pacific Time. SSN Canada will have live webcasts of all 11 matches.

Rounding out the seeding are the No. 2 Laval Rouge et Or (Quebec champions), No. 3 Brandon Bobcats (Canada West finalists), No. 4 Trinity Western Spartans (Canada West bronze medallists), No. 5 Alberta Golden Bears (Canada West fourth-place finishers), No. 6 McMaster Marauders (OUA champions), No. 7 New Brunswick Varsity Reds (AUS champions), and No. 8 Sherbrooke Vert & Or (Quebec finalists).

Top-ranked Calgary opens its title defence against Sherbrooke Friday at 8 p.m. PT in the last quarter-final duel. The other first-round match-ups will see Laval battle UNB at 1 p.m., Brandon face McMaster at 3 p.m., and Trinity Western square off against Alberta at 6 p.m.

Canada West (including teams from the now defunct Great Plains conference) has dominated CIS men’s volleyball since the mid-1990s winning 16 consecutive banners since a Laval triumph in 1994.  

The Dinos extended the Canada West streak last season when, as the sixth seed, they defeated Trinity Western in the CIS final to claim their first Tantramar Trophy since 1993. Calgary put an end to another 17-year drought on Saturday night when it won its first CWUAA title since 1994 thanks to a five-set victory over Brandon.

Note: A complete championship preview will follow on Tuesday.

SEEDINGS

1. Calgary Dinos (CWUAA champions: 16-2 regular season / 4-0 playoffs)
2. Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ champions: 17-0 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
3. Brandon Bobcats (CWUAA finalists: 10-8 regular season / 3-2 playoffs)
4. Trinity Western Spartans (CWUAA bronze medallists: 13-5 regular season / 3-1 playoffs)
5. Alberta Golden Bears (CWUAA 4th place finishers: 17-1 regular season / 0-2 playoffs)
6. McMaster Marauders (OUA champions: 16-4 regular season / 3-0 playoffs)
7. UNB Varsity Reds (AUS champions: 11-6 regular season / 2-0 playoffs)
8. Sherbrooke Vert & Or (RSEQ finalists: 9-8 regular season / 2-2 playoffs)

CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE (all times LOCAL: Pacific Time)

Wednesday, March 2

18:00 All-Canadian Awards Banquet

Thursday, March 3

8:00 – 20:00 Team practices

Friday, March 4

13:00 Quarter-final #1: No. 2 Laval vs. No. 7 UNB
15:00 Quarter-final #2: No. 3 Brandon vs. No. 6 McMaster
18:00 Quarter-final #3: No. 4 Trinity Western vs. No. 5 Alberta
20:00 Quarter-final #4: No. 1 Calgary vs. No. 8 Sherbrooke

Saturday, March 5

13:00 Consolation #1: Loser QF #1 vs. Loser QF #2  
15:00 Consolation #2: Loser QF #3 vs. Loser QF #4  
18:00 Semi-final #1: Winner QF #1 vs. Winner QF #2  
20:00 Semi-final #2: Winner QF #3 vs. Winner QF #4  

Sunday, March 6

12:00 5th place  
15:00 Bronze medal
18:00 Championship final  

About Canadian Interuniversity Sport

Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Fifty-one universities, 10,000 student-athletes and 550 coaches vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca.

-CIS-

For more information contact:

Michel Bélanger        
Manager, Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Off: (613) 562-5670 ext. 25
Cell: (613) 447-6334
belanger@universitysport.ca
www.cis-sic.ca

Scott Stewart
Sports Information Director
Trinity Western University
Ph: (604) 513-2123
ssstew@twu.ca

Last Updated: 2011-02-27
Author: Scott Stewart