Born five years apart, brothers Garrett and Ryan Marcellus are enjoying a rare opportunity as teammates on the Camosun Chargers men’s volleyball team.
Because of their age difference, Oak Bay High grads Ryan and Garrett only recently had the opportunity to play together for the first time. Officially, it was in Victoria’s summer league, played on grass. But this fall is a new experience altogether, said Ryan, who made his PacWest debut against the Vancouver Island Mariners on Oct. 12. The Chargers swept that match in three straight sets.
“So far it’s a lot faster and more size oriented,” said Ryan, 18, “and it’s been great having my brother on the team.”
Ryan, a 6-foot-2 setter, is one of three Chargers rookies this season, with 6-foot-7 middle Lachlan Polson of Claremont secondary and 6-foot-4 right side Lucas Dellabough from Lambrick Park.
Big brother Garrett, 23, is a model statesman, not just for Ryan, but for the team.
Currently, Garrett’s using his 6-foot-4 frame on the left side, but he’s rotated through every position with the Chargers during his five seasons, and how. He was a second team PacWest all-star last year, was part of the Chargers back-to-back provincial championships in 2009 and 2010, and is currently among the team leaders in kills, aces and digs.
“This is an extremely committed team. Winning the past four straight is a huge confidence boost to go into the break,” said Garrett, who is tidying up his accounting degree. “Even when times are tough, we don’t get down, it shows our character.”
That was evident when the Chargers started the season slow, at 4-4.
“We had a little trouble winning the (second match) of the weekend until recently. We’d win on Friday, but lose on Saturday. But it seems we’ve got over that hump,” Garrett said.
The Chargers are coming off with a fourth straight win on Sunday, beating Cranbrook’s College of the Rockies Avalanche 3-1 at the Pacific Institute of Sports Excellence, to take a record of 8-4 into the mid-season break.
“Chargers coach Charles Parkinson has a knack for setting his teams up to peak at the right time,” said Garrett, at PISE on Sunday.
The well-lit court has housed the Chargers the past three years, making a distant memory of the Chargers former home, the gym of St. Margaret’s School, where Garrett played his rookie season in 2007-08.
Like Ryan, who helped the Oak Bay Barbers to the 2012 B.C. title, Garrett also joined the Chargers straight from a provincial championship with the Barbers (2006).
“It’s been a long career and I’m happy to be able to finish with my brother on the team,” Garrett said.
Chargers stop Avalanche
Fifth-year rightside Andy Inglis scored 23 kills, three aces and seven digs on Sunday in the Chargers 3-1 win over the Avalanche, and Garrett Marcellus had eight kills, an ace, and 10 digs. Garrett had 10 kills on Saturday as the Chargers won in three sets over the Avalanche, 25-11, 25-13 and 25-10.
The Chargers women (5-7) also won both games over the Avalanche on the weekend.
Third-year leftside Hilary Graham and second-year rightside Olivia Redden led the Chargers with 14 offensive points each on Sunday. Redden led the Chargers with 15 points on Sunday. Second-year libero Kelsey Johnson had a monstrous match with 21 digs.
PacWest volleyball season restarts on Jan. 4 when the Chargers visit the Douglas Royals in New Westminster.
