ROAD TO THE ECVA: THE GEE-GEES MEN’S VOLLEYBALL CLUB OPENS THEIR FALL CAMPAIGN AT THE TOURNOI GRIFFONS
The University of Ottawa Gee-Gees Men’s Volleyball club kicks off their season this weekend, with a five-match exhibition tournament hosted at Cégep Outaouais in Gatineau, Que.
It’s the first of four tournaments the team will compete in during the fall term, which includes visits to Humber College, Durham College and Michigan State University.
As is the case with most of uOttawa’s Varsity Grey clubs, the team does not compete within USPORTS. Instead, they compete in a variety of tournaments throughout the fall and into January, prior to the start of their US-based league – the Eastern Collegiate Volleyball Association(ECVA) – in February.
A rare chance to watch in-person
The Tournoi Griffons– in which the Gee-Gees will be participating on Saturday and Sunday – will be the first of three consecutive weekends of competition for the team, and the only local event of the fall. The tournament has been a staple of the Gee-Gees schedule for several years, though this year’s version of the event features fewer OUA and OCAA teams than usual.
Alongside the Gee-Gees, there are just four other teams representing academic institutions: the host Outaouais Griffons (RSEQ), and the OCAA’s Algonquin Wolves, Canadore Panthers and La Cité Coyotes.
The remainder of the participants consist of local club teams, including (but not limited to) the 18U squads of Maverick and Fusion, the two largest youth volleyball programs in Ottawa.
This event typically represents an opportunity to build team chemistry prior to the larger tournaments the Gee-Gees will be competing in later on, and critically, a chance for first-year team members to prove themselves.
The Gee-Gees play at 3 p.mand 7 p.m on Saturday, then at 9 a.m, 1 p.m and 5 p.m on Sunday.
Prestigious invitations
Next weekend, from Sept. 26-28, the Gee-Gees will travel to Toronto in their return to the elite Humber Cup. Five-time defending OCAA champions, the Humber Hawks draw top teams to their event each year. Last year’s invitees were Humber, TMU, Western, Nipissing, Fanshawe and Limoilou; all either OUA programs or top-15 colleges in the country.
Champions in 2019, the Gee-Gees have not received an invitation to the tournament since the pandemic, when it transitioned from a ten- to a six-team event. The Gee-Gees will be hungry to prove themselves.
Following that, the team will attend another top tournament in the Adidas Cup, hosted on October 3rd and 4th at Durham College in Oshawa. The Gee-Gees are in search of another podium: the club won the event in 2021 and were bronze medallists in 2022.
International play
Similar to the Gee-Gees, most American universities don’t have a men’s volleyball program competing at the top level available. Their solution? The Eastern Collegiate Volleyball Association, a league composed of university clubs from the American east coast, stretching from New York down to Florida. The ECVA has been home to the Gee-Gees since 2023, where they compete within the North division.
The Gee-Gees won the North Division for the first time in March 2025, defeating Syracuse University in the final. The win ensured that the team qualified for the ECVA Championships, held annually for the top 16 teams in the conference across all four divisions (North, Central, South, Southeast).
The Gee-Gees have qualified for the Championships in each of their three seasons in the league; their bronze medal in 2024 was the best performance by a North division team at the event since at least 2004.
In addition to their league play, the Gee-Gees will be returning for a third year to Michigan State University’s Hardwood Classic. Held annually in November, the 40+ team tournament features the likes of Ohio State, Notre Dame, and the Universities of Michigan, KentuckyLouisville, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois.
Despite Round of 16 exits in their first two appearances, the Gee-Gees remain optimistic about their chances of pushing themselves into the upper echelon of competition in the US.
The roster at a glimpse
Having lost four players from last year, the Gee-Gees will look different than last year. However, the team has 12 returning players and seven rookies to choose from in making a starting lineup, and a host of talent eager to prove themselves.
The roster, by position and in alphabetical order, is:
Left Sides: Cohen Docker, Ilyes Lahdili, Zach Shewan, Wade Stanley, Alex Teichmann
Right Sides: Noah Bilodeau, Gab Hill-Huard, Owen Monych, Alex Vanderbyl
Middle Blockers: Matteo Brouillard, Crosby Butler, Justin Gauthier Barber, Marko Mysyk, Parker Williams
Setters: Will MacCuspic, Yiorgo Rowe, Seb Shewan
This weekend’s tournament in Gatineau will be the only chance to catch the team playing locally until the spring; attendance is free at Cégep Outaouais and fans are encouraged to support the squad!
To follow the Gee-Gees throughout the season, you can keep up with their happenings on Instagram (@geegeesmvb), and catch all their matches live-streamed on YouTube.
