The 2003-04 University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s volleyball team knew how fine the margins are between joy and heartbreak in pursuing a championship.
The Huskies won the 2004 Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men’s national volleyball title by the slimmest of margins – a 16-14 fifth-set win. It was poetic justice for the Huskies after they saw their title hopes dashed with a 16-14 fifth-set loss a year earlier in the national semifinal to their rivals from the University of Manitoba.
The Huskies were well-acquainted with the drama of national championship tournaments. Four of their fifth-year players ‑ Nathan Johnson, Brandon Needham, Andrew Lockert, and Darren Dove – were red shirts in 1999 when the Huskies won the national title. Head coach Brian Gavlas and his Huskies were perennial title contenders in that era, having lost the national final in 1998 and 2000 and reaching the national semifinals in 2001 and 2003.
The Huskies had strong Saskatchewan-representation as six of their seven-man starting rotation were homegrown players. Five members of the Huskies’ seven-man starting rotation had been red shirts, which was unusual for a national-title contending program, but the Huskies’ consistency spoke to their ability to develop players within their program.
The 2003-04 Huskies team finished the season stronger than it started. Veterans Brandon Needham and Joel Ens didn’t initially return to the team. When middle blocker Darren Dove broke his hand, Needham returned to fill that void, while Joel rejoined the team mid-season to join his brother Adam Ens to use his final season of eligibility. With Dove healthy in time for the playoff run, the Huskies went into nationals as the top-ranked team in the country.
It was an era of CIS men’s volleyball where teams from Western Canada won 18 straight titles. The Huskies finished with an impressive 21-6 record and won two tournaments beating Brigham Young University – the 2004 NCAA men’s volleyball champions – as well as the UCLA Bruins who went on to reach the NCAA final in two straight years, winning once.
The Huskies won the Canada West title, defeating the reigning national champions from Manitoba on their home floor and earned a small measure of revenge for their national semifinal loss a year earlier.
At the CIS nationals in Quebec City, the Huskies beat l’Université de Sherbrooke and Trinity Western University 3-0 to advance to the final. The Huskies beat the University of Alberta Golden Bears 3-2 in the final to claim the national title. After winning the first two sets 27-25 and 25-21, Alberta won the next two sets 19-25, 22-25 before Saskatchewan persevered for the 16-14 fifth-set win.
A number of those players were honoured individually during the 2003-04 season. Adam Ens was the CIS Men’s Volleyball Player of the Year. He also won the BLG Award as the CIS Male Athlete of the Year – becoming only the second Huskie to ever receive that honour. Andrew Lockert received the Dale Iwanoczko TSN Award for commitment to academics and the community. Joel Ens was named the Most Valuable Player at the CIS national championship. Joel Ens, Adam Ens, and Nathan Johnson were all named to the championship tournament all-star team.
The 2003-04 University of Saskatchewan Huskies men’s volleyball team included: Stephan Chelsom, Darren Dove, Adam Ens, Joel Ens, Matt Enns, Richard Faucher, Scott Mitchell, Dean Gauthier, Eric Green, Mark Johnson, Nathan Johnson, Julian Yeo, Mike Walch, Andrew Lockert, Brandon Needham, Adam Pearson, Riley Kaminski, Chris Simair, and James Holmes. Brian Gavlas was the head coach, while Rob Kennedy, Greg Beckwith, and Clint Bilben were assistant coaches and Sara Thiessen and Josh Bucsis served as student trainers.
Installed in the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame on September 28, 2024.
