Former BLG award winner Howatson named mvp in Spain

LANGLEY, BC – Former Trinity Western University Spartan and 2007 CIS Athlete of the Year Josh Howatson has added to his trophy case as a professional for Unicaja Almeria men’s volleyball team in Almeria, Spain.

Howatson earned Most Valuable Player honours as he led his team to winning the King’s Cup (Copa del Rey). “Being named MVP was something very unexpected, especially considering the talent we have on our team at the attacking positions,” commented Howatson.

Howatson’s team won the Spanish league title, Spanish Superliga, and with the Cup victory hold two legs of the Triple Crown, with the third being the overall championship. "I'm very excited to have won the King's Cup (Copa del Rey) this year, especially after having won it with Unicaja last year and being the first team to repeat as champions in the last seven seasons. We had a lot of pressure on us after going 21-1 in the regular season, so it was in a way almost more of a relief to win than anything else,” Howatson commented on his team’s success.

What made the successful tournament more enjoyable for Howatson was that he was able to win the title in front of his parents, who were visiting from Victoria, Canada. “I was more than happy to get the award itself, but what made it really special is that my parents and sister were visiting Katie and I here in Spain and it was the first time they had seen me play since CIS Nationals in 2007. Being able to share that with them was definitely the highlight of my years overseas so far, said Howatson."

The King's Cup is an 8 team tournament, single elimination, and is played according to the rankings of the teams (1-8) after the first 11 games of the season, after everyone has played each team once.

Howatson’s and Unicaja are currently in the semi-finals of the league play-off, April 9-10 and 16, against Tarragona SPiSP. The league championship matches will run into the beginning of May. Unicaja defeated CMA Soria 3-0, 3-0 in the best of three series.

Last season Howatson and Unicaja finished second in the Spanish League were Spanish Cup Champions, where he was named best setter, and made it to the CEV Cup Final Four in Athens, Greece. In 2007-2008 Howatson played for Fabregas Sport Multicaja in Zaragoza, Spain. Howatson was named MVP of week 22 in league play and was named best setter of the week on three different occasions. His Fabregas squad finished seventh in the Spanish League and fourth in the Spanish Cup.

Source:

Scott Stewart MSS
Sports Information Director
Trinity Western University