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Pursuit: A bronze medal win nearly 30 years in the making

The Cambrian College men’s volleyball team recently captured bronze at the OCAA finals, the first for the school since 1995
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The Cambrian College Golden Shield men’s volleyball team claimed bronze at the Ontario College Athletic Association championships hosted at Fanshawe College from Feb. 23-25.

In appealing to the likes of Stephen Brown, Sven Trodel and Kurtis Brisebois for one final run at OCAA (Ontario Colleges Athletic Association) glory upon accepting the role as head coach of the Cambrian College men’s volleyball team a couple of years back, Dale Beausoleil assembled a squad that was clearly more experienced than the traditional Golden Shield reps of the past few decades.

Still, it’s hard to imagine that any of these young men would have even the foggiest recollection of the last time the program secured a medal at provincial playdowns. 

The year was 1995 and Brown was two, Trodel was one and Brisebois wasn’t even in the picture yet. But it was this core troika along with a solid supporting cast who would restore some luster to a group that could boast four OCAA silver medals and a bronze in the years ranging from 1989 to 1995.

Moreover, they did it this winter in style.

“I thought that the guys played amazing,” said Beausoleil, a man who enjoys more than three decades of involvement with the sport at a collegiate level. The long-time bench boss of the Cambrian women’s team agreed in recent years to guide both of the college’s varsity volleyball entries.

“You look at our first match with Seneca; we totally dominated them (25-16, 25-7, 25-15),” he said. “That was a great way to start the playoffs. And then our first match at provincials, we play Canadore and again, the boys just dominated (25-21, 25-10, 25-11). They were on a mission and played really well.”

Awaiting them were the powerhouse Fanshawe Falcons, the team that would eventually claim silver medals and an opponent that had already waged a pair of titanic five set classics against Cambrian earlier in the year.

“If we have Stephen Brown healthy, that’s a different story,” Beausoleil mused of the semi-final 25-23, 25-20, 17-25, 20-25, 9-15 setback to the Falcons. “He played, but he wasn’t Stephen Brown; he just wasn’t quite there yet. After that match, he could barely walk.

“Even though [the Falcons] were the No. 1 team in the province the whole year, we were one of the few teams to beat them.”

This was a tough pill to swallow.

Beyond just a berth in the OCAA final was the reality that the winner of the Cambrian-Fanshawe game would be joining the Humber Hawks at nationals, the latter playing host to the CCAA (Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association) championship this year and having already captured the remaining semi-final. 

“After that match, we sat in the change room for a long time,” Beausoleil said. “That hurt quite a bit for us. We had to have that time to feel the hurt.”

But just as he has done countless times in his illustrious career, the graduate of Confederation Secondary School would find a way to pull his troops back up off the floor. 

“We had a practice early the next day and I think that was the best thing for us,” said Beausoleil. “We had a practice to get us up, to get us out of our negative mindset and get our bodies moving again. We stressed how important a bronze medal still was.”

Mission accomplished.

A 25-17, 25-21, 24-26, 25-23 triumph over the Mohawk Mountaineers ensured the team that boasted a pair of OCAA all-stars in Sven Trodel (first team) and Jason Diotte (second team) and one of the top setters in the province in the form of Jack Daley would be returning home far from empty-handed.

“Jack was insane that whole time,” said Beausoleil. “He just elevated his game. He’s done it the whole year, but to do it at provincials, under that pressure is just unbelievable. I thought he was a magician out there.”

Joining both Daley and Trodel in earning Player of the Match honours at the OCAA championships was Nathan Scully, who along with Diotte and Brisebois, should give Beausoleil a little to build around given the impending graduations of Daley, Trodel and Brown.

It certainly won’t take the Golden Shield very long to start putting the pieces in place for another post-season run this time next year. 

“We’re back in the gym this week,” said Beausoleil this past Sunday evening. “That’s good for everybody, good for their mental health.”

Rounding out the 2022-2023 roster are Kurtis Terris, Miguel Levac, Justin Lamontagne, Tyson Brazeau, Dylan Terris, David Pigozzo, Cameron Showers and Zak Fiacconi-Thompson.  

Randy Pascal is a sportswriter in Greater Sudbury. Pursuit is made possible by our Community Leaders Program.


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