The Camosun College Chargers will battle for gold against the nation’s best at the 2020 Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Women’s Volleyball Championships, hosted by Cégep Garneau in Quebec City, March 11-14. Arriving at the event as one of two wildcards, the Chargers take on the championship hosts, Élans de Garneau, in the quarterfinal round.

 

“Quebecois fans are known for their enthusiasm, and Quebec City has a lot of quality volleyball being played in it,” comments Chargers Women’s Volleyball Head Coach, Brent Hall. “It will be a very lively environment to play in, which is both a challenge and can be extremely fun for all involved. It sounds like there will be a keen contingent of Chargers fans making their way out, so they will have to bring their A-game to keep up with the hometown crowd!”
This week, the Chargers are busy making their final preparations for the trip and the competition ahead. When asked if the team will be doing anything different to prepare or if things would be business as usual, Coach Hall indicates that it is a bit of both.

 

“There’s no way to make nationals feel like business as usual because it’s different,” states Hall. “There are more fans and there is the added pressure of playing a team we’ve never competed against in an unfamiliar location. But the athletes know that none of that is within their control. The only things that are in their control are the skills and tactics we’ve been working on all season. So in that sense, playing at nationals is no different than playing through the regular season. The only adjustments we make will be specific changes to our personnel and strategy, based on the teams we’re competing against through the tournament.”

 

And while this will be Hall’s first time coaching at a national event, he is certainly no stranger to performing on the national stage, having competed at three national championships as an athlete.

 

“Although I have never coached at a CCAA championship, it’s an environment I am familiar with and comfortable in,” he says. “As an athlete, attending nationals is an opportunity to test your capability to make continual progress and play your best volleyball when it matters most in a new environment. For the coaches, it’s an opportunity to prep for some specific matchups we only get one chance at winning, unlike most of our season where we are seeing teams we play routinely. The pressure of this situation will push us all to our best performances and I’m looking forward to seeing how well the team will play when they rise to the occasion.”
The 2020 CCAA National WVB Championship will showcase an impressive field as all eight teams made the CCAA Top 10 in the final WVB Rankings of the season! Next Thursday’s quarterfinal is set as follows:

 

  1. VIU #1 vs #8 Edouard-Monpetit
    2. RDC #5 vs #6 Fanshawe
    3. Garneau #3 vs #7 Camosun
    4. Briercrest #2 vs #10 Holland

 

Match previews may be found here.

 

Camosun plays the third match of the day. Fans can watch the live webcast as the Chargers begin their quest for CCAA gold on Thursday, March 12 at 6pm ET (3pm PT).