Volleyball
The Mariners men’s team is hosting its 2013 Identification Camp on Jan. 13 in preparation for next season. Head coach Abe Avender and Assistant Coach Graham Sigalet will evaluate attending athletes looking for a future in varsity volleyball.
Avender says the camp is an important aspect in team recruiting. “We hosted an ID camp the last two years which was an excellent way for athletes to connect with VIU and our Men’s Volleyball Program,” Avender says.
Meanwhile, the women’s team will travel to Cranbrook Jan. 18–19 to take on the COTR Avalanche, before hosting Columbia Bible College the next weekend. The M’s are in a battle for first place with the University of the Frasier Valley and will look to build on their successful first half of the season.
Badminton
VIU’s badminton team is preparing for the final tournament of the year before the Pacwest Provincial Championship. The team travels to Douglas College Jan. 19-20 in hopes of improving on their fifth and fourth place finishes in the two previous tournaments.
The female duo of Eunice Chan and Melissa Liew have performed well this season, finishing second in the Thompson Rivers University and VIU tournaments. Both players have also placed runner-up individually this season.
Douglas College will be the team to beat, having won each category in both tournaments this season.
Basketball
After nearly a month off the court from league play, the Mariners basketball teams are back in action and working towards Provincials in Feb. The men’s team is already in good position, entering Jan. second in the standings behind Langara. The M’s will look to Brandon Jones, who leads the team in points and assists, to continue his strong play.
The women, however, will need to battle the rest of the season to pull away from the five-team log jam in the standings from third to seventh place. Both squads spend the next two weeks at home, playing Douglas and Langara Jan. 11–12.