Two volleyball players from Langley’s Trinity Western University (TWU) will heading to Italy and Bulgaria this fall to compete.
Spartans own men’s volleyball setter Mathias Elser and incoming middle Corey Schoenheer have been named to Canada’s indoor men’s U21 team for 2021. But neither are strangers to playing in this arena.
This year will mark the fourth consecutive summer that Elser, who hails from Calgary, has been part of Canada’s U21 program.
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In previous years, he represented Canada at the NORCECA U21 Championship in 2018 and at both the U21 Pan American Cup and U21 World Championship in 2019. In 2020, he was part of the U21 group that trained together virtually.
For Schoenherr, who calls Waterloo, Ont. home, this will be his second opportunity with the national program as he was part of Canada’s U19 virtual training group in 2020.
MVB | @TrinityWestern setter Mathias Elser and incoming middle Cory Schoenherr have been named to the @VBallCanada Indoor Men’s U21 team for 2021!
🔗https://t.co/GIopitA2BV#TWUVolleybal x #SpartansTogether pic.twitter.com/8JihB3lcYl
— TWU Spartans (@TWUSpartans) May 28, 2021
This U21 team will represent Canada at the FIVB U21 World Championships scheduled to take place from Sept. 23 to Oct. 3, confirmed Julien Boucher, Volleyball Canada high performance director for indoor teams.
“This group of athletes represents the future of the men’s program, and I congratulate the hard-working players and coaches who kept the momentum going during the pandemic,” said Boucher. “We’re looking forward to seeing them train and compete later this year.”
This year’s U21 team is comprised of athletes with the potential to represent Canada at the 2028 Olympic Games. The program will run in Gatineau, Que. from July 5 to early October.
The local players are part of the Spartans athletics at TWU.
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As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women’s and men’s soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women’s rugby sevens.
TWU also competes as an independent team in men’s rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.
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