U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Preview 🏐
Quick rundown: Once the leaves start to fall and the temperatures start to drop, it can only mean one thing: U SPORTS volleyball is back.
Here are three questions across the three major men’s volleyball conferences.
Canada West: Which team is poised to surprise?
Trinity Western, Alberta and UBC — those are the most recognizable names in Canada West men’s volleyball. But if the past few seasons have shown us anything, it’s that surprises aren’t uncommon in this conference.
In 2024-25, we saw Winnipeg crawl out of the woodwork and catapult to first place in Canada West and ultimately win the conference championship. Last year, UBC Okanagan came out of nowhere and shocked everyone, finishing tied for third.
The 2026 U SPORTS final pitted two Canada West powerhouses against each other: Trinity Western and UBC. Both teams have undergone massive overhauls, losing veterans such as Mason Greves and Reeve Gingera (UBC) and Anselm Rein and Corey Schoenner (Trinity Western).
With both teams set to field new cores, the conference could be up for grabs.
OUA: Will the McMaster-Queen’s dynasty live for another year?
It’s the same conversation year in and year out.
Since 2006, no team has won an OUA title other than Queen’s or McMaster.
Since head coach Dave Preston’s departure in 2023, McMaster’s program has been a fraction of what it used to be.
Last year was our best shot at seeing someone challenge the 20-year streak, with teams like Toronto and Windsor emerging as potential contenders. But Queen’s ultimately defended its title.
Windsor has lost major pieces such as Markus Law-Heese, Gustavo Siquaro and Darian Koskie, while Toronto graduated Maxime Gratton and Hunter Alrupragasm. Queen’s lost its biggest piece from last season in Reed Venning.
The OUA will look different this year. Does that mean we could see a new team hoist the Forsyth Cup?
RSEQ: Can Sherbrooke reclaim its glory?
Last season, the RSEQ almost seemed flipped on its head.
Montréal turned its program around, going from a below-.500 record to the top of the RSEQ, finishing last year’s regular season with a 14-2 record. By contrast, Sherbrooke went from first place in the RSEQ in 2024-25 to treading water in the middle of the conference.
The loss of one of the country's best setters, Jonathan Portalance, didn’t help.
Now the question is: Can Sherbrooke find its footing again?
After finishing first in the RSEQ in three consecutive seasons (2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25) and making two consecutive trips to the national finals during that span, the program looked like it was building a new dynasty.
After looking like a program poised to dominate the RSEQ in the 2020s, can Sherbrooke prove last season was just a bump in the road rather than the beginning of a new normal?