by CWUAA Communications

Photo courtesy Brandon University Athletics: Fourth-year Bobcats star Paul Sanderson has set records in his time at Brandon, and now he is the Canada West MVP

EDMONTON - Canada West Athletics presents the 2009-10 men's volleyball individual award winners and All-Stars, as selected by head coaches conference-wide.

In his final Canada West season, the Brandon Bobcats' PAUL SANDERSON is the Canada West Most Valuable Player.

A fourth-year left side player out of Melbourne, Australia, Sanderson has put his mark on the Canada West record book since arriving on the scene, with this his third time named to the Canada West All-Star team. During the 2009-10 conference season, Sanderson led all of CIS in kills (368) and kills preset (5.18). He had the fourth-most kills recorded in a CWUAA season since rally point play began in 1999-00 and his average was second to his own league mark set last season. His overall .242 hitting percentage was impressive for a player that had over 800 hitting attempts.

Sanderson, who will graduate this spring with a Bachelor's degree in Physical Education, also led the entire nation in total points, with 416.5, 60 points better than his nearest rival and shattering his own Canada West record of 395.5 set last season. He ranked second in aces within the conference, with 30, an average of 0.42/set.

Brandon head coach Russ Paddock said, "Paul Sanderson will end his career at BU as the Bobcats' most prolific scorer and the most dominant attacker in the conference this past decade."

"Sanderson is an impact player with tremendous passion," indicates Athletic Director Kirk De Fazio. "Paul can change the momentum of a game instantly with his powerful serve and devastating kills. He will leave big shoes to fill in our program."

Thompson Rivers young talent KEVIN TILLIE is the Rookie of the Year. Tillie's first season in Canada West, and in North America for that matter, was one to remember. Tillie, a member of the French Junior National Team, saw a lot of floor time in his rookie campaign with the WolfPack.

Tillie was first in the Canada West in service aces, with 30 in 67 sets for an average of 0.45. He wound up third kills at 250, an average of 3.73 per set, and was third in points with an average of 4.40/set (295 total). The 6'6" native of Cagnes Sur Mer, France comes from a very athletic family. His father Laurant is a pro volleyball coach and former player in France. His mother Caroline is a former captain of the Dutch National volleyball team. His brother plays NCAA basketball at the University of Utah.

Said head coach Pat Hennelly about his rookie: "I have been pleasantly surprised by Kevin's play. I knew coming in he would be a good player with his resume. Kevin has responded well to being a student athlete with a 3.6 GPA in his first semester and his play has been getting stronger every month. Kevin has fit in very well with the team and has been a pleasure to coach. I am glad he has been honoured as the Canada west Rookie of the Year and he has certainly earned it."

For the third straight season, BLAIR BANN has been recognized as the Libero of the Year. The Edmonton native has been a defensive stalwart for the Thunderbirds since arriving on the Point Grey campus four years ago.

This season Bann led the Canada Wes with 3.76 digs per game, averaging 1.04 digs per game more than the next best player, and 252 total digs which was 64 more than next best individual. Those numbers were also good enough to rank him first in the nation in both of those categories. Bann was also recognized for the second straight season by the CW coaches with a spot on the Second Team All-Star squad, an outstanding accomplishment for a libero. He was a CIS All-Rookie team member in 2006-07 and the 2007-08 CIS Libero of the Year.

Coach Rich Schick said of Bann, "Blair has been our most consistent performer throughout the entire season leading our team and conference in passing and digging statistics. The passion, energy and dedication he brings to the game are examples of what it takes to become and succeed as an elite athlete. The recognition is well deserved and his teammates and I are extremely proud of him."

Brandon's RUSS PADDOCK is the Canada West Coach of the Year. A world-class player and four-time CIAU (now CIS) medalist in the late 1980s, former National Team member and 1992 Canadian Olympian, Paddock has blossomed into a leader off the court with the Bobcats.

This season Paddock guided the Bobcats to a 12-6 regular season mark, good for third place and a home playoff series in the nation's most difficult conference, just two games behind the two-time defending CIS champion Alberta Golden Bears. Brandon was 10-8 one year ago, but All-Star Joel Small moved on after last year and Paddock found a way to get the most out of returning All-Canadian Paul Sanderson, now MVP of the league, among others.

"Coach Paddock created this program from ground zero five years ago and has produced a magnificent culture of volleyball enthusiasts here in Manitoba, and particularly in the city of Brandon," said Brandon University Director of Athletics Kirk DeFazio. "A CIS bronze medal for the Bobcats in only their fourth year of existence (2008-09) in the ever-strong Canada West conference is phenomenal. Russ's leadership is a key piece to the success of this program," says DeFazio.

The 2010 All-Star team has several returnees from last year's all-conference list, including Sanderson, Bann, Alberta's Mike DeRocco, Gord Perrin of Thompson Rivers and Ciaran McGovern from the Calgary Dinos. Last season DeRocco was named to the CIS All-tournament team for the champion Golden Bears, while Perrin was selected CWUAA Rookie of the Year back in 2007-08.

Following is a list of all individual award winners and All-Stars:

Awards

MVP: Paul Sanderson, Brandon

Rookie of the Year: Kevin Tillie, Thompson Rivers

Libero of the Year: Blair Bann, UBC

Dale Iwanoczko Award nominee: none

Coach of the Year: Russ Paddock, Brandon

All-Stars

First Team
Paul Sanderson, Brandon
Gord Perrin, Thompson Rivers
Justin Duff, Winnipeg
Thomas Jarmoc, Alberta
Oleg Podporin, Calgary
Steven Marshall, Trinity Western

Second Team
Mike DeRocco, Alberta
Blair Bann, UBC
Ciaran McGovern, Calgary
Dan Lother, Winnipeg
Josh Doornenbal, Trinity Western
Kevin Tillie, Thompson Rivers

Major award winners are now finalists for national awards, to be handed out by Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) at the Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, B.C., March 12-14.

This weekend's Final Four takes place at the University of Alberta, where the Trinity Western Spartans face the Calgary Dinos in one semifinal and the host Golden Bears clash with the CIS tournament host WolfPack in another. All four Canada West championship teams have qualified for Nationals.

About CWUAA
"Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), winning at least 10 CIS national titles every year since 1997-98. Comprised of 14 schools, from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, the CWUAA produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games."