Metcalf set for provincial rivalry’s final chapter

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/12/2022 (753 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Rylan Metcalf has seen enough of the Winnipeg Wesmen.

Enough to know what they do well. Enough to know where to attack them. Enough matches against them over the past year and change.

The Brandon University Bobcats’ fifth-year right side plays his final weekend set against Winnipeg tonight at the Healthy Living Centre at 8 o’clock, then at the Duckworth Centre on Saturday at 6:45 p.m.

“They’re definitely a provincial rival, league rival, they are a good team, we’ll give them credit for sure so we’ll have to come in focused, prepared and it’ll be a grudge match,” Metcalf said.

“For the rivalry, the past definitely weighs into it but we’re just focused on this weekend.”

The Bobcats and Wesmen meet for the 10th time in two seasons tonight, due to last year’s COVID-19 modifications that meant six regular-season meetings. Winnipeg is 6-3 over that span, but Brandon took the most important one: their second-round playoff match to reach the Canada West final four.

In a way, that post-season victory was just BU getting even.

Metcalf joined the Bobcats after his University of Regina Cougars folded following the 2017-18 season. The Carman native dodged the playoff heartbreaker the Bobcats experienced when the Wesmen came back to steal a best-of-three quarterfinal series that year.

He arrived in time to train with and watch the best lineup in program history go 20-2, win Canada West on home court and finish second at nationals as his older brother, Mason, started at middle blocker.

Rylan kept working and patiently waiting for his turn to start, and saw fairly regular court time in 2021-22. Now he’s a regular starter and has put up 50 kills with 31 errors, hitting .114 as the fourth option in setter JJ Love’s offence.

“Being a practice player and knowing in the past years … I wasn’t going to get the opportunity because I had Elliott Viles in front of me, just being able to watch and learn from him, (coach) Grant (Wilson) does a good job of keeping everybody in practice with the mindset that they are going to play,” Metcalf said. “So I feel like that’s an easy transition because Grant makes that possible and teaches us that mentality.”

At the same time, Metcalf is in the hottest seat in the Bobcats’ lineup.

Love, left side Tom Friesen, libero Jens Watt and middle blocker Philipp Lauter’s numbers are figuratively Sharpied onto Wilson’s rotation card. Paycen Warkentin’s No. 20 is in pen now, as he’s started just about every set lately. Metcalf’s No. 12 is in pencil, one with an eraser handy as rookie outside hitter Liam Pauls adjusts to the U Sports game.

He’s not on Metcalf’s level yet, hitting .057 with nearly as many errors as kills (12-10). But with three inches on Metcalf at six-foot-five, his upside is clear and he shows flashes of brilliance that, coupled with consistency, will be tough to keep off the floor.

Liam Pauls has closed a few sets for Metcalf, offering a blocking boost and staying on in relief during his off nights. The veteran takes it in stride.

“Have to go out there and do whatever I can to help the team win,” Metcalf said. “Grant knows what he’s doing so if Grant thinks a change is necessary, that’s totally up to him and it’s probably going to benefit the team. “Liam’s a great player and Grant knows what he’s doing so obviously it’s for a reason.”

The Bobcats started slow with an ultra-tough schedule, falling to 1-5 in a hurry. They’ve won three of their last four, however, and completed a weekend sweep of MacEwan with their second 3-0 win last Saturday. This Bobcat team is undersized and relies on terrific ball control, which was on certainly on display that day.

“Our serve receive lately has been really good. Last game we passed a 2.3 so we’ve been really locking in there,” Metcalf said.

“We just need to start putting the ball away on good opportunities when we’re in system. We’re slowly getting better at that, slowly getting used to JJ’s setting, getting used to the offence he’s running.”

Neither BU nor Winnipeg has done much to suggest it can contend for a title or host a playoff series just yet, as we near the halfway mark of the 24-match campaign.

The Wesmen got their six wins against teams with a combined 6-24 record and lost both matches to Alberta (9-1) and Thompson Rivers (5-5).

Brandon swept MacEwan (0-10) and split TRU and Manitoba (4-6) while dropping two apiece to Alberta and UBC (7-5).

Brandon’s offence has a .216 hitting percentage to Winnipeg’s .208 while their opponents average .236 and .235, respectively (as if it matters who’s who).

The Bobcats average fewer kills per set than anyone in Canada West at 9.74 while the Wesmen are third at 12.03, but BU gets blocked less than anyone at 1.55 per set while U of W is last at 2.82.

Basically, the Bobcats are playing it safe while the Wesmen are blasting away and trying to end points fast.

Winnipeg also boasts a league-leading 9.59 digs per set, led by senior libero Darian Picklyk’s conference-topping 2.22.

“They’re on one of the most scrappy teams in the league, best defensive teams in the league. They know how to keep the ball up,” Metcalf said. “We try to stay away from Darian as much as possible, whether it’s serving or attacking. He’s one of the best liberos in Canada.”

The BU women (0-10) look to crack the win column against the 6-4 Wesmen, who are 4-2 in matches against teams Brandon has played. Their first serve today is at 6 p.m., and they open Saturday’s action at 5 p.m.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com

» Twitter: @thomasmfriesen