Duncan Petrie: January's Zueike Male Athlete of the Month
Petrie surveys the Assiniboine defence in their match last weekend
Congratulations to Duncan Petrie of Blazers Men's Volleyball on being selected the CMU Zueike Male Athlete of the Month for January. The veteran right side has continued to grow his game and has put in the work on and off the court to become the conference's most dominant and consistent right side attacker.
Petrie's university career thus far has been one of slow growth and continued improvement as he has found ways to become more impactful every season since he began in 2021-22. Over the last three seasons he has often been paired with another right side attacker, creating a tandem allowing head coach Don Dulder to provide some load management for his starters. Now a captain, Petrie has shrugged off the need to take games off through rigorous training in the fitness room throughout the year to keep himself healthy and ready to play every game, and it shows in his stats. Petrie led the team in kills in three of five matches this past month (including this last weekend's match with Assiniboine), and now sits fourth in the MCAC in total kills, amongst a list dominated by left sides across the league. As a right side Petrie is often tasked with facing the opposition's top left sides, but has still managed to rank in the top five in blocks per set for the conference, which eludes to growth in his defensive game as well, often contributing crucial digs while in the back row as well.
Coming from his start as a role player with undeniable talent to a leader on and off the court, Petrie's value as a veteran amongst an otherwise young squad is also invaluable to head coach Don Dulder, who weighed in on his captain's impact this year: "Duncan's improvement in his consistency of his attacking and blocking improvement have been very noticeable this season. His consistency is a result of seeing the openings in the block and his court maturity are big factors to his success this past month, and his blocking technique and alignment have also improved not to mention his serve. He is also healthier as he has worked hard to eliminate some nagging issues holding him back in past years, which makes him stronger and fresher on the court. He plays with a strong passion and his right side attacking has really opened up our offense. His support and leadership as one of our captains has helped bring our rookies along and see their level of play improve as well."
The Blazers have a final weekend of league play ahead of them as they battle for positioning in the MCAC standings. Now sitting in second place, if the team can secure that position into the playoffs they will earn themselves home court advantage in a critical semi-final matchup with the Assiniboine Cougars. With the Pilots having locked up the first place bye to the finals and as hosts of the 2025 CCAA Nationals, the winner of the MCAC Men's Volleyball semi-final will also earn themselves a spot at this year's nationals as the second Manitoba representative. CMU hosts the MCAC Volleyball Championships February 21-23, which for the first time will be a best-of-three finals format.
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