Rookie German opposite Breitenbach leads Griffins into weekend series vs. Saskatchewan
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
|
|
20 | 19 | 16 | 0 |
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | Saskatchewan | MacEwan University |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .280 | .090 |
| Blocks | 8.0 | 4.0 |
| Digs | 19 | 17 |
| Aces | 4 | 0 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
EDMONTON – After recording one of the most impressive debuts by a Griffins student-athlete in recent memory, Fabian Breitenbach showed what kind of a competitor he is.
He just finished breaking the program record for the best hitting percentage by a Griffins rookie in a Canada West men's volleyball match – .619 in the season opener at Calgary Oct. 17 – but was more concerned about his shortfalls.
"His first comment was he wasn't happy about his block and his serve," said Griffins head coach Brad Poplawski. "That's just an athlete mentality where it's 'how do I get better?' "
What that's led to is the Griffins having a guy who's currently second in Canada West amongst all rookies in kills/set (3.07), which is only trailing Mount Royal first year Kale Orr (3.21).
"Offensively, he's punching above his weight, for sure," said Poplawski of Breitenbach, who is leading the Griffins' attack as a first year. "Obviously, watching him play in Germany on film and talking with him I had pretty high expectations for him, but he's surpassed that.
"I think, first and foremost, he fits in with what we're trying to do. We want to get really good people who are really good volleyball players and that's Fabian. He's unbelievably coachable, great work ethic, very competitive, always wanting to improve."
Breitenbach will lead the Griffins into weekend home action vs. Saskatchewan that includes Friday's 'School Day' matches (12 p.m. women and 1:30 p.m. men), as well as Saturday competition (3 p.m. women, 4:30 p.m. men, both David Atkinson Gym, Canada West TV).
PURCHASE TICKETS HERE (MacEwan students get in free)
Fabian Breitenbach nukes a kill down the middle!
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Volleyball Team (@GriffinsMVB) November 9, 2025
Incredible dig by rookie Ethan Pavone to keep the play alive as @MacEwanGriffins trying to claw back in Set 1 in Kelowna.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/FEmm1POXuU
A native of Stuttgart, Germany, Breitenbach was playing with ASV Botnang (third division) before his tape caught the eye of Poplawski and his assistant coach Patrik Zimmermann, who is German, as well.
"He worked in the city where I'm from, so we knew a bunch of the same people," said Breitenbach. "I got an agency and he saw 'that's a guy from Stuttgart and I've been there,' so before he reached out to me, he asked a few of his friends and then asked me.
"It's cool to have somebody who even knows where you're from and what volleyball's about in Germany. He knows a lot of my background."
One day, Breitenbach would love to return to Germany to play professionally, which means his determination and motivation to grow and improve in Canada West is strong. He carries a ton of potential to be an impact player in the conference for years to come.
"I came into the season with a goal to develop myself as much as possible," he said. "I look what's there to improve. I just want to get out of every single practice as a better player and out of every single game as a better player. So, that's why I try to set new goals every week and try to fulfill it in a game."
Things are constantly changing in volleyball, a sport where what you succeed at one night is what the opposition tries to take away the next night. You have to always be evolving your game within the game, which is almost like a chess match at the net vs. opposing blockers.
"Obviously, because he's putting up good numbers, teams are game-planning against him now," said Poplawski. "I think that's something in your evolution as a volleyball player. What worked on Friday, you know they're going to watch film and maybe try to take that away. We're really working hard on trying to develop more shots and have more tools in the tool-kit.
"As an opposite, he solves a lot of problems for us and we're just going to keep working on decision making," he continued. "Some of those are on court, some are in the one-on-one video that we do where we talk about what he's seeing, what he's thinking and what he's trying to accomplish, and just trying to evolve that way. Teams are game-planning against him, so it's how to build a match."
The area of his game that has already improved a bunch since he came to MacEwan is serving. As one of a handful of hard spin servers on the Griffins, Breitenbach had five aces in two matches against Mount Royal Nov. 14-15. Even better, those came with only seven errors.
ACE FOR THE WIN!
— MacEwan Griffins Men's Volleyball Team (@GriffinsMVB) November 15, 2025
Fabian Breitenbach's spin serve hits the floor to wrap up Set 2 28-26 in favour of the @MacEwanGriffins, who now have a 2-0 lead over @MRUCougars #GriffNation pic.twitter.com/S00lyGgw9k
"For us as a team, we want a 1 to 3 ratio," explained Poplawski. "If he's better than 1 to 2, that's amazing. When you're serving at that velocity, you're going to have some errors.
"I think I've seen his serve grow a lot. We've worked a lot on his toss, his footwork. He's been constantly working on that. He's a guy when he's on the baseline, it's green light."
And that's not something the program has had enough of in recent years. Poplawski noted teams used to side out at a 75 per cent rate against them because their serves didn't have enough velocity.
"Our thing this year is we need to be way more aggressive from the service line," said Poplawski, pointing to Breitenbach, Brendon Lord, Daylan Laszlo and Jarod Robert – big spin servers who have the green light to mash it. "We knew especially at the beginning of the year there would be games where we'd miss too many serves. But I can't get mad at them if they're smart aggressive.
"We're trying to take (the opposition) out of system a little bit and not make it so easy for teams."
M��| FINAL@GriffinsMVB takes a set off @UCDinos before falling 3-1 (25-14, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21).
— MacEwan Griffins (@MacEwanGriffins) October 18, 2025
Newcomer Fabian Breitenbach leads MacEwan with 16 kills on a sizzling .619 hitting percentage - a new rookie program record!#GriffNation
BOXSCORE➡️https://t.co/NRu6N6U17B pic.twitter.com/ljYKim1ZP8
For Breitenbach, when he's playing at the top of his game, he isn't thinking.
"I'm just on the court enjoying the time with the guys," he explained of what it's like to be in the zone. "Some people think you're always talking to yourself in your head 'don't mess up, don't mess up or whatever.' To be honest, I'm just on the court and I sometimes I sing along to the music, sometimes I make jokes with the guys. It's just trying to stay as light as possible, so that I can trust the confidence I've built over the weeks.
"I think all of the buildup before the game makes the flow state in the game easier."
