1986-87 Men's Volleyball Team

John Bertelink, Dave Dickey, Kent Jarvis, Rob Stewart, Roy Chapman (C), Richard Caron, Ron Flieler, Dave McCormack, Howard Williams, Greg Gavin (C), Greg Douglas, Gary Hayes, Aaron Mumby (Mgr).

The sport of mens volleyball has long had a special status at Loyalist College, but, it wasnt until the 1986-87 season that Loyalist Volleyball took that next step. They won the Colleges first ever Division 1 Provincial Championship.

Prior to the Championship, which Loyalist hosted, very few in the volleyball community would have predicted a win for the hometown Lancers. Sheridan was definitely the favorite having won the Provincial title six previous years in a row. The Lancers shocked the Bruins in pool play by defeating them in three straight sets. In the gold medal game it was again Sheridan vs. Loyalist. Lead by Howard Williams and John Bertelink and complemented by an exceptional team effort Loyalist could do little wrong. They defeated the Bruins a second time in three straight sets. At the National Championships in Red Deer, Alberta, a spirited Loyalist team continued to surprise. In their match against the perennial National Champions, College de Limiolou, the 86-87 Lancers gave the Titans the scare of their lives. The match lasted five games and it wasn’t until the Lancers lost two players to injury that Limiolou was finally let off the hook. The Titans went on to win the gold; the Lancers headed home dreaming of what might have been and knowing that they had started something that future Loyalist teams would aspire to.