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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday March 21, 2008 - 39 Pehar's patience pays off Aquinas grad leads Alberta to CIS volleyball crown By Herb Garbutt OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF CANADIAN CHAMPION: Former St. Thomas Aquinas student Brock Behar, pictured delivering a hit in Canadian Interuniversity Sport volleyball action last season, helped the Alberta Golden Bears win the CIS men's championship recently in Quebec. The 23-year-old Pehar left the Waterloo Warriors four years ago, sat out his first year in Alberta because of CIS rules and was a back-up the following season before finally landing the starting role with the Bears. He was named a second-team allCanadian last year, and earned a spot on the first team this past season. Brock Pehar's gamble delivered the ultimate payoff. Four years after leaving the Waterloo Warriors to join the Alberta Golden Bears, the 23-year-old led his team to the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) men's volleyball title in Laval, Quebec. "It's a good way to go out," said the former St. Thomas Aquinas student. "I didn't want to have to look back on this year and have any regrets "There was a -- not that I would have. taste left in my I still had a really good mouth from time, but this is the icing last year that I on the cake." The icing was particu- didn't like." larly sweet because Pehar was named the tourna- Brock Pehar ment's most valuable player. In Alberta's three victories, the fifthyear setter had 102 assists, five aces and 12 blocks. Pehar had watched the Golden Bears win the national title in 2005. He was a red shirt that season, sitting out for the season after transferring from Waterloo, as per CIS rules. The following year, his playing time was limited as he served as a back-up to allCanadian Brock Davidiuk. The team reached the national final, but settled for silver. Last year, in Pehar's first as a starter with Alberta, an inexperienced team again reached the final but lost to the University of Winnipeg in five sets. Despite Alberta overachieving in most people's eyes, the loss wasn't any easier to take. "There was a taste left in my mouth from last year that I didn't like," Pehar said. This time, the Golden Bears were not about to let another opportunity slip away. Again facing Winnipeg for the Canadian title, Alberta scored a 25-17, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20 victory "We were better focused and more disciplined down the stretch," Pehar said. "We weren't surprised to be in the final this time. Last year, because we had a young team, we were just glad to be there." This time around, there were more expectations on the Bears. "We were ranked number one all year, so the fact we were able to hold on to that and keep winning, that's something to be proud of," said the 6-foot-5 setter. Although he had been a starter and OUA all-star his first two years at Waterloo, Pehar made the move to the western team in hopes of improving his own game in a more competitive environment. The Canada West conference is ultra-competitive, having now produced the last 14 national champions. "When he committed to red shirt for us and knew that he would probably play a season behind Brock Davidiuk after that, that willingness, that commitment was really key for me as it showed that he had passion for the game," Alberta coach Terry Danyluk said. Pehar, a second-team all-Canadian last season, was named to the first team this year after finishing third in Canada with 10.69 assists per game and sixth in the country with 28 service aces. Those skills were on display again in the gold-medal match as he had 43 assists, four digs, one ace and two kills. Pehar downplayed his individual award, though. "It's the popular thing to do -- give it to the setter when you have such a deep team. And being that type of team where we have a lot of good hitters, a lot of the time it falls on the setter." Pehar wasn't the only Oakville player to have success on the court this year. Queen's setter Devon Miller and Dalhousie outside hitter Daniel Murray were members of the allCanadian second team. Miller led the country in service aces with 38 and was second in assists with 764. Murray ranked third in the Atlantic University Sport in both points per game (3.84) and kills per game (3.29) and was in the top 10 in digs per game (1.79). Blades, Aurora start tomorrow The Oakville Blades and Aurora Tigers will open their Provincial Junior A Hockey League semifinal series at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday) at Joshua's Creek Arenas. Game 2 of the series will be played in Aurora the following day, also a 7:30 p.m. start. A fan bus has been organized for the trip to Aurora Sunday, leaving Joshua's Creek Arenas at 5:30 p.m. The cost of the bus is $20 per person, and tickets to the game are not included. The schedule for the rest of the series had not been finalized as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Blades assistant general manager Charlie Bartlett, because the Blades are having difficulty booking ice time at Joshua's Creek Arenas. The Blades are coming off a 4-1 series victory over the Georgetown Raiders to win the West, while Aurora won the North 4-1 over Stouffville. Tennis Anyone? Registration at Clubhouse (Just south of hospital) Saturday, March 29 Saturday, April 5 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. Fees: Family Couple Adult Junior $160 $140 $90 $50 Cheque Preferre After April 30th fees inc New Courts & Ligh Now Hiring Court Attendants $8.50/hr. Forward resumes by April 12 to: The Manager Wallace Park Tennis Club P.O. Box 52064 Oakville, ON L6J 7N5 Wallace Park Tennis Club 245 Reynolds St. 905.845.7649