After a perfect 2010/11 season that saw them go 14-0, with just four set losses, the Red River College Rebels men’s volleyball team did one better this weekend, dismantling a talented squad from Alberta in the CMU Challenge Cup final.

The CMU Challenge Cup, a non-MCAC tournament which took place on campus at Winnipeg’s Canadian Mennonite University, featured two men’s teams who will take the court in MCAC action this year: the Red River College Rebels and the CMU Blazers.

It also saw talented teams in the eventual-finalist Lakeland Rustlers from the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference and the Lakehead Thunderwolves, a club team from the Thunder Bay school.

Red River College defeated Lakeland in straight sets in both the final and the round robin match between the two. Lakeland has nine Manitobans on their roster.

“Defeating Lakeland was great for our program and the conference,” said Dan Gilbert, head coach of the Red River men’s volleyball team. “With dozens of Manitobans currently playing college volleyball elsewhere, this shows that many players are still looking abroad for something that may be available in their own back yard.”

Behind the tournament win were stellar performances by Red River’s second-year middle Dave Glass, who had a stunningly efficient 36 kills and just three errors in four tournament games. In the most important games, a semi-final match against CMU and the final, he had 17 kills and no errors whatsoever. Blocks were crucial for the Rebels as well, they recorded 23 blocks in the final, 10 at the hands of Graham Peltier, a first-year middle. Peltier had 29 blocks in the tournament.

Red River will open their 2011-12 MCAC campaign right back at the CMU campus on October 26. The women take the court at 6 p.m., the men at 8 p.m.

www.mcacathletics.ca