Magical playoff run led to Griffins winning 2009 CCAA championship

2008-09 Griffins men's volleyball team

(Inducted in 2024-25)

A team of destiny, the Griffins men's volleyball team got hot in the playoffs and captured one of only three CCAA national championships won by MacEwan in a team sport over their ACAC history (1974-2014).

Under head coach Jon Heinen, the Griffins went 15-5 during the regular season, but they didn't start to get the respect they deserved until they swept 12-8 Red Deer College in the ACAC quarter-finals. The Kings were a recent dynasty that had won an unprecedented eight-straight national titles from 2000-07.

After beating Medicine Hat in a five-set thriller in the ACAC semifinals, MacEwan then drew defending national champion Mount Royal in the final with a berth at CCAA nationals on the line. They trailed the match 2-0 and were down 24-21 in Set 3 - just a point away from being swept - when they engineered an improbable comeback, winning 30-28, 25-20 and 15-11 to win the provincial banner.

At nationals in Fort McMurray, hosted by Keyano College, the Griffins again faced adversity right off the bat when Seneca College erased a 2-0 deficit to force a fifth-and-deciding set in the quarter-finals, but MacEwan prevailed on the backs of a strong serving run from eventual CCAA tournament MVP Chris Womack.

After beating UFV in the national semifinal, they entered the CCAA final as the underdog again with the tournament's undefeated No. 1 seed - Quebec powerhouse Cégep de Limoilou - staring at them from across the net. The Griffins were undeterred and won the title in four sets.

In a rare moment, the national champion Griffins were also awarded the Mel Stelck Fair Play trophy. Besides MVP Womack, Mark Breakwell and William Pasiecka were named to the tournament's first all-star team.

READ MORE ABOUT THE 2009 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS HERE

The Griffins pose after winning the 2008-09 CCAA national championship in Fort McMurray (Submitted).

The 2008-09 national champion Griffins

Head coach: Jon Heinen

Assistant coach: Steve Rott

Assistant coach: Bryan Risselada

Chris Womack

Mark Breakwell

Steve Phillips

Tristan Locke

Dustin Marcinkevics

Wyatt Dogterom

Tejveer Pandher

Jeremy Potter

Ryan McDonald

Ryan Zwarich

Owen Smid

William Pasiecka

Cody Piwowar-Desilets