Trinity Western men’s volleyball setter Ben Ball from Abbotsford, B.C., was named a nominee for the 2012 BLG Awards. Ball will be one of four male athletes vying for this year’s U Sports Athlete of the Year honour at the 20th Annual BLG Awards sponsored by the national law firm Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.
On Monday, April 30, the eight national nominees will be honoured, with one female and one male winner receiving a $10,000 post-graduate scholarship in front of more than 1,000 guests at the EPCOR Centre’s Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary.
The awards show will premiere on TSN on Saturday, May 26, at 1:30 p.m. EDT.
“The BLG Awards is the event we look most forward to all year long,” said Marg McGregor, chief executive officer of CIS. “With over 10,000 student-athletes competing in CIS, the BLG Awards highlight eight exceptional individuals and we are extremely proud of their accomplishments and unrelenting pursuit of excellence.”
“I’m just a relaxed, laid back individual who loves having fun on the volleyball court,” said Ball. “Put it this way, if there is ever a book written about me, they should call it Having a Ball.”
And a ball it was this season for the Trinity Western men’s volleyball team. Led by their all-star setter, the Spartans were ranked No. 1 in each of the 14 national polls published during the campaign and finished the regular schedule atop the Canada West standings for the first time in history.
In his fifth and final university season, the 6-foot-4 senior was named U Sports player of the year and MVP of the national championship. Making his accomplishments even more impressive is the fact that Ball was so ill during the U Sports tournament in Kingston that he was unable to practice and only left his hotel room to take part in his team’s three games.
“Ben may not be your classic setter. Instead, he is much more than that,” says TWU head coach Ben Josephson. “There are lots of setters in our country who possess great athleticism and technique but Ben’s character make up sets him apart and puts him in the category of those really special setters who come along once in a coach's career."