Half of the Canada West (CW) men鈥檚 volleyball major awards will find their homes with the country鈥檚 top-ranked Trinity Western Spartans.

The Spartans鈥� savvy and inspirational setter, Derek Epp, has been named the player of the year after leading a dynamic, offensive team to a 15-1 record on the regular season.

Coach Ben Josephson shared that a year ago Epp was not able to train two days in a row and nobody knew what the illness was. Epp was told he would never play competitive volleyball again.

鈥淣ow, he鈥檚 the player of the year,鈥� commented the coach.

鈥淭he way he overcame that is why he is the player of the year.鈥�

Epp came back more resilient than ever, not just to the sport but rising to claim the conference鈥檚 top honour.

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The versatile athlete led primary setters in points per set, combining his intelligence and creativity in a fun style to watch.

鈥淗e鈥檚 so focused and he knows exactly what he鈥檚 trying to do, but he鈥檚 very adaptable in creating on the fly,鈥� said the coach.

The man who created that offensive team, Josephson himself, earned the nod as the conference鈥檚 top coach for the fourth time in his CW career. He earned the award after leading his Spartans to a near-perfect record on the season.

Jeff Gamache, athletic director of Trinity Western Spartans, praised the coach.

鈥淏en has so many incredible qualities as a coach. He connects with his athletes, he is technically brilliant, and he has a tremendous work ethic. But perhaps the thing that stands out the most this year is his creativity.鈥�

Josephson assembled and employed a 鈥渞are鈥� 6-2 system that utilizes his athletes鈥� unique talents in the most effective way possible.

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The result: a fear-invoking team that can quickly beat down the will of their opponents.

Josephson鈥檚 Spartans, who went 15-1 on the regular season, led the conference in hitting percentage. Gamache said that he could not be more grateful for the impact Josephson has made on the legacy of the sports program.

He led his team to boast the highest hitting percentage in the conference while individually converting on half his attempts.

Trinity Western is now preparing to host the Final Four (Brandon, Alberta and Calgary) this weekend. The championship match is set for Saturday, with the semi-finals going Friday.

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