Providence volleyball celebrates return to campus

The Providence Pilots were welcomed back to campus with a bang. The school’s volleyball teams, which have spent the past five seasons playing out of the Niverville Resource and Rec Centre, opened their 2026/2027 campaigns in Otterburne on the campus of Providence University College.

The gym was packed Oct. 23rd for the school’s home openers, with another solid crowd the next afternoon.

“The atmosphere in the barn is going to be great and thanks to Pilots nation for coming out and supporting us,” men’s head coach Paul Armbruster said after a match Oct. 24, noting the turnout over the weekend was “awesome.”

Unfortunately for those fans they didn’t get to see much winning, as the Pilots could only find victory in one of the four games played over the weekend. The women’s team only managed a single set, dropping a 3-0 match to Canadian Mennonite University and a 3-1 decision to Assiniboine College, falling to 1-3 on the season.

The men’s team had a bit better luck, outlasting Assiniboine 3-2, bouncing back from a loss to CMU the night before. The Pilots are now at 3-1 on the season.

“I think we have a ton of potential and I think we’re lacking experience and consistency,” Armbruster said after the win over Assiniboine.

“That’s what we’re trying to work on in practice, developing that consistency.”

The team has 10 returning players, but lost some key leadership figures on the court and are now working to replace them. Kade Lepp, a five-year Libero who graduated last season and Thomas Pain, another from last year’s graduating class, has joined Armbruster on the bench as an assistant coach.

“We just need experience,” Armbruster said.

“It’s going to take this group longer to get to where we need to, but I’m really excited about that possibility.”

He added the team has been focused on their defensive game in practices to start the season, and is about to transition into an attack focus in the coming weeks.

Armbruster was lamenting the fact he didn’t get the team to play many pre-season matches against other teams, instead playing inter-squad scrimmages to get more game experiences.

“I’m trying to be a bit more patient this year,”

“That’s the delicate dance. How do you still push, but how do be patient knowing that we need to go through a bunch of these experiences?”

Fans of volleyball will notice a couple rule changes in Manitoba this year. The biggest change is apparent especially in Otterburne. Digs that bounce off the ceiling on the defensive side of the court are no longer called out immediately, with teams now able to continue the rally. The gym at Providence College has low ceilings for volleyball, meaning the Pilots’ return was well-timed with the new rules.

Even though the ceiling should give the Pilots a better home-court advantage, Armbruster isn’t celebrating.

“I’m a volleyball purist,” he said with a laugh.

“It just feels unprofessional when the ball is bouncing around four times.”

There is also a renewed focus on calling pushes over the net.

Providence will next be at home Nov. 14 when they host Canadian Mennonite University. Games will be starting at 6 p.m.

The Pilots’ basketball teams are also playing out of Otterburne now. The team will play their home opener Nov. 7 against St Boniface.