The Niagara Knights men's volleyball program will host the fourth Annual Niagara Region Boys' Volleyball Showcase at the Welland Campus Athletic Centre on Thursday, December 14.
The event will see 39 student-athletes, representing 18 local high schools, showcase the talent level that exists in the Niagara region's boys' volleyball ranks ranging from Grimsby to Niagara Falls to Fort Erie. First serve for the event is set for 6 p.m.
"This annual event is something that the entire Regional volleyball community really looks forward to" said Knights men's volleyball coach Nathan Groenveld. "It's important that volleyball gets an opportunity each year to shine in the spotlight, and our Knights program is proud to help facilitate that.
The event sees all of the local Niagara schools invited to nominate players to compete in the event. If multiple players from one school end up participating they are placed on opposing teams to add an additional level of friendly competition. The event will see members of the Knights men's volleyball program serve as coaches of team white and team blue, and participating players are distributed randomly to each team.
The event serves as one quarter of the Niagara College Knights' showcase series started in June 2014. The Niagara Knights' soccer programs, led by Welland native Frank DeChellis and Rob Lalama, have hosted four successful showcases of their own, while the Knights basketball showcase events made their debut in December of 2016. The Niagara Knights women's volleyball program has hosted the girls' volleyball showcase every March since 2015.
The match will be broadcast live at goknights.ca/watchlive by the Niagara College Broadcasting, Radio, Television, and Film program. The broadcast will feature BRTF students providing play-by-play, colour commentary, and in-game interviews with participants.
For more information please contact Nathan Groenveld, head coach Niagara College men's volleyball at ngroenveld@niagaracollege.ca.
Below are the team rosters for the 2017 Niagara Region Boys' Volleyball Showcase:
| Stephan Legagneur | 5 | OH | ESC Jean-Vanier | BLUE |
| Kole Popat | 3 | S | Centennial SS | BLUE |
| Connor Vanderkuip | 20 | OH | Smithville Christian | BLUE |
| Matthew Ferron | 1 | MB/OH | Holy Cross | BLUE |
| Mathew Collison | 9 | OH | St Michael | BLUE |
| Alex Page | 12 | OH | St Paul | BLUE |
| Bailey Stewart | 18 | S | Thorold Secondary | BLUE |
| Michael Levasseur | 2 | S | Stamford | BLUE |
| Jesse Raso | 3 | MB | Notre Dame | BLUE |
| Alexander Mrkalji | 8 | OH | Sir Winston Churchill | BLUE |
| Joel Coopman | 12 | MB | Greater Fort Erie | BLUE |
| Micah Niewets | OH | Eden | BLUE | |
| Patrick Alvarez | 1 | S | Blessed Trinity | BLUE |
| Matt Calverly | 10 | S | EL Crossley | BLUE |
| Vangel Matic | 13 | MB | AN Meyer | BLUE |
| Dallas Melnick | AN Meyer | BLUE | ||
| Andrew Sindall | 8 | L/OH | Beamsville | BLUE |
| Dayton Follick | 23 | S | St Francis | BLUE |
| Thomas Rigas-DiDomenico | 12 | OH | AN Meyer | WHITE |
| Jacob Fontaine | 17 | S | ESC Jean-Vanier | WHITE |
| Anthony Perna | 14 | MB | Centennial SS | WHITE |
| Jordan VanHerwynen | 0 | L | Smithville Christian | WHITE |
| Adam Topolinsky | 18 | OPP | Holy Cross | WHITE |
| Dan Kessler | 1 | OH | St Michael | WHITE |
| Matthew MacLean | 2 | S | St Paul | WHITE |
| Braydon Harrietha | 11 | MB/OH | Thorold Secondary | WHITE |
| Ethan Wilding | 11 | S | Stamford | WHITE |
| Will Spencer | 10 | MB | Sir Winston Churchill | WHITE |
| Ethan VanNatter | 6 | OH | Greater Fort Erie | WHITE |
| Josiah Esau | 2 | S | Eden | WHITE |
| Dylan DiFabio | 23 | MB | Blessed Trinity | WHITE |
| Justin Levere | 5 | L/S | Blessed Trinity | WHITE |
| Forest Turpel | 12 | OH | EL Crossley | WHITE |
| Omesh Jayaweera | L | AN Meyer | WHITE | |
| Tanner Vail | 71 | MB/OH | Beamsville | WHITE |
| Alex D'Elia | 14 | OH | St Francis | WHITE |
