Blazers MVB Find their Missing Piece
The CMU Men's Volleyball program is very pleased to announce the commitment of Michael Hwang for the 2024-25 MCAC season. The Miles Mac Buckeyes, Bison Club, and Team Manitoba libero will look to help his new squad by providing consistent passing and digging out of the Blazers' backcourt.
Hwang serves as the final piece of the puzzle for Blazers head coach Don Dulder, as he completes the monumental task of replacing eight rostered players from last year's team, either graduated or not returning to the squad this fall. Hwang will replace outgoing libero Brock Carmichael, and is expected to be plugged directly into the starting lineup, completing the Blazers' young but talented turnaround team this coming season. Hwang, along with his new teammates will look to return to MCAC dominance but will have a tough task ahead of them overtaking the defending champions Pilots, who are expected to return a lineup as good or better than their 2023-24 team.
A graduate of Miles Macdonell Collegiate this past June, Hwang helped his varsity squads to back-to-back MHSAA "AAAA" Provincials berths, off of first and second place KPAC division finishes in his final two high school seasons. The defensive specialist was a team captain in his final season, a role rarely given to a libero, and was named tournament all-star at the UofW Invitational where the team were semi-finalists in the 16-team field. Hwang capped off his high school career by being named a MHSAA Graduating All-Star, and also received a coach's merit award from his Buckeyes coaching staff. A multi-sport athlete prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Hwang was a rising tennis star before his emergence among the elite in the volleyball ranks began, at one time the 20th-ranked player in Canada in his age category, second among his fellow Manitoban tennis prospects.
Hwang's meteoric rise in the club ranks began only this past season, when he suited up for the 17U Junior Bisons, and showed his leadership potential again by captaining the squad. Coached by Andrew Jones and Ken Krahn there, Hwang credits Jones for being very supportive throughout his time at the club, and opening his eyes to the level of development he could yet attain with his game. After a 4th place finish at Manitoba Club Championships, Hwang got his first taste of National-level competition at Volleyball Canada's Youth Nationals in Edmonton this past spring. He parlayed his excellent back-row play there into a spot on Team Manitoba's 18U roster earlier this summer, where he trained alongside fellow Blazers signing Levi Johnston, with both just recently returned from Calgary and the Canada Cup; a tournament showcasing provincial team programs from across the country. With Team Manitoba he was coached again by Andrew Jones, as well as Lindsey Habib in a top-tier coaching tandem.
Now at CMU, Hwang continues his volleyball journey under head coach Don Dulder, who is more than happy to bring him into the fold after searching for his roster's missing piece for much of the spring and summer. "Michael comes to CMU as an extremely talented and experienced libero." Notes CMU's head coach. "He is an excellent passer and defender who also brings tremendous leadership qualities as the captain of his Bison club squad and a real team player demonstrating passion for the game and support of his teammates. He is a top academic student, and we see in him the qualities as a person that our team embodies. We are very excited to have Michael join us."
Helping to bring Hwang to CMU was his Team Manitoba teammate Levi Johnston, but also familiarity with a number of the other new recruits on the Blazers' young squad such as Curran Chan, Max Anderson, Austin Spicer, and Adrian Deer. He is excited about the opportunity playing at CMU and in the CCAA provides and the path it paves for a future in volleyball and in further education. Hwang will step into the Redekop School of Business at CMU, with a concentration in math courses, and looks to bring a business-like attitude to the court when pre-season opens in late September. The Blazers make a return West to Lakeland College in Lloydminster, Alberta to open their competitive schedule before additional exhibitions in Winnipeg and Thunder Bay leading into the MCAC season.
Following a seventh-consecutive MCAC Finals appearance this February, the Blazers will once again look to make an appearance on the national stage next season when the CCAA Men's Volleyball Nationals are held here in Manitoba, hosted by the Providence Pilots. For the first time in CCAA history, two teams from Manitoba will make the championships in a bid to increase the middle province's visibility on the national stage and show why Manitoba is still a hot bed of top talent in the country. The CCAA is the national body for collegiate athletics in Canada, offering 10 national championships in seven sports. Now finished its third full year of participation, the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference joins five other established CCAA conferences; PacWest (BC), ACAC (Alberta-Sask), OCAA (Ontario), RSEQ (Quebec) and ACAA (Atlantic).
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