Griffins set to face early test with three-straight road weekends to kick off 2019-20 schedule
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – Overcoming a tough opening month of the 2019-20 schedule will be key if the MacEwan Griffins men's volleyball team hopes to take the next step and earn a Canada West playoff spot for the first time in program history.
MacEwan's home opener won't take place until Week 6 of the Canada West season when they welcome Brandon to the David Atkinson Gym on Nov. 22-23.
The Griffins will head out on the road for three-straight weekends to start the campaign – Oct. 18-19 at Mount Royal University, Nov. 1-2 at Trinity Western and Nov. 8-9 at Calgary – while Weeks 2 and 5 are bye weeks for the squad.
A big reason for the road-heavy start is that Regina no longer has a men's team, so while the Cougars will visit MacEwan for a women's match on Oct. 25-26, there will be no men's game.
CLICK HERE FOR THE COMPLETE MACEWAN GRIFFINS 2019-20 MEN'S VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE
"The three weeks on the road do give us a lot of time to be together as a team, allowing us to really get into our match day routines," said head coach Brad Poplawski. "We are hoping that this will allow us to bond as a group and develop a very solid pre-match protocol."
MacEwan finished 3-19 last season, missing out on the playoffs. Should they grab a post-season spot this season, the opening round best-of-three quarter-final matches are set for Feb. 21-23, while the semifinals run Feb. 28 to March 1 and the single-game championship is slated for March 7.
The U SPORTS men's volleyball national championship is scheduled for March 12-15 at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.
For fans looking to watch the action, 2019-20 Canada West TV passes are now on sale, with the best early-bird pricing available until the end of June. An all-access pass ($79.99), or a soccer sport pass ($31.99), can be purchased by clicking here.
Season tickets will be available for sale on Sept. 14 online or in person at the Christenson Centre for Sport and Wellness.
