Driven by hunger and youthful energy, Tommies Volleyball teams prepare to return to the court
Volleyball fans, the wait is almost over. The St. Thomas University (STU) men's and women’s volleyball teams are close to returning to the court.
Last season was a successful one for the program. Both teams made it to the playoffs.
The men finished the season with 19 wins and one loss. The women’s team ended the year with 15 wins and five losses. They were tied for first place.
STU's men's team rode the wave of momentum all the way to a conference championship. The team swept the Université Sainte-Anne (USA) Dragons in three sets. Meanwhile, STU's women's team bowed out following a semi-final loss to the University of New Brunswick Saint John Seawolves.
Fast forward to this season, where the squads have retooled and shifted their focus to the court for the 2026-27 Atlantic Collegiate Athletic Association (ACAA) season. They are set to serve up another year of exciting volleyball that will bring the heat as the weather gets colder.
STU's women's team opened their season last Saturday in Truro. Meanwhile, the men will begin this coming weekend in Moncton against the Crandall Chargers.
Both teams return home on Nov. 14.
Henri Mallet is the head coach of the men's volleyball team. He has been at the helm for the past decade.
Mallet believes that every year "brings new challenges." The team underwent significant roster turnover during the offseason. Many veterans who were part of the ACAA championship run have departed the program.
To offset their losses, STU had a recruiting class that featured nine rookies. The newcomers are joined by five second-years and two fourth-years.
Mallet feels there is a renewed sense of "excitement in the air." The new season reminds him of his first-year coaching with the program in 2017, when the team started six rookies.
STU was "fortunate enough" to bring home some hardware at the end of the year.
"The league's going to be very mature this year. There are a lot of teams that are returning a lot of their players," he said. "We got full confidence in the guys that we have. We've got some young talent, but good talent. We’re looking forward to seeing what comes out of this group."
STU played three games during the offseason. The first came against the Canadian Mennonite University (CMU) Blazers of Winnipeg. The Tommies defeated the Blazers three sets to none, following up the match with a gritty five-set loss the next night.
STU defeated the Mohawk College Mountaineers of Hamilton three sets to two later in the preseason.
Mallet felt the team played at a higher level than expected during the three preseason games. Having squads coming from outside of conferences that want to test their mettle and skill against the Tommies demonstrates the success the team has had in the past.
At the same time, Mallet believed the first match against CMU was "as clean of a game" as he had seen the team play early in a season.
"We have the weapons. It might not be as polished as some of the players we had last year because we're still young, but we have some guys that can put the ball down," said Mallet. "It won't be one or two guys expected to lead us offensively. It's going to be a [five, six and seven] guy type of teamwork."
Sebby Villeneuve is a second-year outside hitter for the Tommies. He is someone who Mallet will rely upon this season to provide offence and be a leader for the young squad.
Villeneuve thinks the team is "pretty excited" for the season. The second year of his STU career has brought more responsibility on and off the court, marking a difference from last year. He used his rookie season to get a feel for the program and see how things work.
Still, he feels the team is hungry for the opportunity to "prove the league wrong."
"It's a new group of guys, and everyone's super fun to play with," said Villeneuve. "I think it's going to be really fun this year.”
STU captured the ACAA championship last season. The team swept USA in three sets to accomplish the feat, taking home the title on home soil.
Villeneuve feels being the reigning champs and having a chip on their shoulder is a "good" feeling to have. The team knows what it's like to taste success. As a result, Villeneuve wants the feeling just as badly this season.
“We want to go for hopefully the back-to-back title, if possible," he said.
Meanwhile, the Women's Tommies are coming into the new campaign looking to build on the success of last year.
The team came into the 2025-26 campaign with a young roster, including 10 rookies. This time around, STU is working on getting more experience with every game.
Jenna Murphy is a setter for the Tommies. She is in her fourth season with the green and gold.
Murphy is feeling "super excited" to start the season. STU added three players in the offseason. One of them is from Prince Edward Island, while the others are from Fredericton and Calgary.
All three are players that Murphy believes are great people. She feels the team is "lucky to have them" on the roster.
"I think we're a really competitive team ... we want to win and push each other to get better," said Murphy. "We've been working a lot defensively, and that's something that we're going to continue working on because at the end of the day, there’s always something that we can improve.”
STU took the preseason in stride. They practiced five days a week and had team workouts. The Tommies also played a couple of scrimmages against different teams.
The experience gained from the preseason is something Murphy believes will be "really beneficial" for the team during the regular season. The competition was good, and STU was able to see how the teams looked going into the new campaign.
Murphy is excited about what the team is going to be able to accomplish.
"We've got a super hardworking group of girls," she said. "We need to remind ourselves that every day we're in the gym we want to get a little bit better, so our work ethic and everything will translate into our regular season."
As for her hopes for the season, Murphy wants the team to keep enjoying what they've been doing and know that the hard work is going to pay off. Everything the team is doing, including practices, workouts and mental performance, will lead to greater success.
"We have the potential to do really well this season,” she said. “It's about continuing to work hard and get better each day.”
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