Ryley Barnes, Brett Walsh, Taylor Arnett Fourth-year University of Alberta Golden Bears volleyball setter Brett Walsh has been named the 2015-16 CIS player of the year in men’s volleyball. The business student from Calgary joined a long list of MVP recipients from the Golden Bears program, including former teammate Mitch Irvine in 2013 and current U of A head coach Terry Danyluk, who was a back-to-back winner in 1980 and 1981. Walsh is also the 18th straight winner from the Canada West conference dating back to 1999 (including the defunct Great Plains conference). The 2016 CIS championship gets under way Thursday at McMaster University’s Burridge Gym and concludes Saturday at 6 p.m. with the national final. The two-time defending national champion Golden Bears will open against No.3 Laval at 3:00 p.m. EST (1:00 p.m. MST), which can be viewed live on the webcast at www.CIS-SIC.tv. In his fourth season with the Golden Bears, the 6-foot-5 senior led CIS in assists per set (11.76) and ranked second in the country in total assists (964). With Walsh running the offence, Alberta finished first in the nation in kills per set (14.18), team hitting percentage (.345), points and points per set, while also placing fourth in total kills. Thanks in large part to his brilliant play, the Bears topped the Canada West standings in league action with a stellar 23-1 record and sat atop the national rankings heading into the playoffs. “To be acknowledged among some of the names that were up for the award, and been chosen to win is really an honour,” said Walsh. “There are some pretty amazing athletes that were up for this award, and to be on the same page as some of the previous winners of this award is really cool as well.” A first-time all-Canadian, Walsh was named a Canada West all-star for the first time a year ago, when he accomplished a rare feat by reaching the 1,000-assist plateau in a single season (1,031). He was an integral part of Alberta’s back-to-back national championships in 2014 and 2015 as he was voted to the all-tournament team two years ago and was selected tourney MVP last March in Saskatoon. “It has been a pleasure watching Brett grow as a volleyball player and person the last four seasons,” said Danyluk. “He is a very focused and driven young man and his desire to compete is exceptional. I am so happy for him that his hard work and dedication to the game have gained him the respect of the coaches in our league.” “It’s really cool to gain the respect of the league and to be acknowledged for this award, but it is really all about the team and how the team is performing, because volleyball is a team sport and it’s never about one player,” added Walsh. “To be recognized for this individual award is cool, but what we all want is to be recognized for the team award at the end of this weekend.” Teammates Ryley Barnes and Taylor Arnett were also awarded at the CIS all-Canadian breakfast, with Barnes earning a spot on the CIS first team all-Canadian squad, his third all-Canadian award, while Arnett was named to the second team. 2015-2016 CIS MEN'S VOLLEYBALL AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS Player of the year: Brett Walsh, Alberta Rookie of the year: CJ Gavlas, Saskatchewan TIMEX Coach of the year: Rod Durrant, Calgary Dale Iwanoczko Award (volleyball, academics & community service): Robert Graham, Saskatchewan First Team  Pos.     Athlete                        University       Year    Hometown                  Academic Program OH       Stephen Maar               McMaster         4          Aurora, Ont.                History & Political Science LS        Ryley Barnes               Alberta             5          St. Paul, Alta.            Physical Education & Recreation M         Danny Demyanenko    McMaster         4          Toronto, Ont.               Justice, Politics & Law M         Alex Russell                UBC                5          Surrey, B.C.                 Applied Science           S          Brett Walsh                  Alberta             4          Calgary, Alta.               Business          OPP     Brad Gunter                 Thompson Rivers        4          Courtenay, B.C.                       Science L          Jacques Borgeaud        Regina             5          Brisbane, Aust.            Kinesiology & Health Studies  Second Team LS        Roy Ching                   Brandon           4          Nelson, N.Z.                Science           LS        Marko Dakic                Queen’s           5          Mississauga, Ont.         Law     M         Taylor Arnett               Alberta             4          Calgary, Alta.               Science            M         Arthur Szwarc              York                2          Toronto, Ont.               Liberal Arts S          Andrew Kocur             McMaster         4          Toronto, Ont.               Economics       OPP     Braden Cok                 Waterloo          3          Waterloo, Ont.             Computer Science        L          Vincent Thibault-Bernier   Laval               4          Gatineau, Que.             Dentistry (medical)      All-Rookie Team S          CJ Gavlas                    Saskatchewan  1          Saskatoon, Sask.          Arts & Science S          Gabriel Chancy            Montreal          1          Montreal, Que.             International Studies    OH       Chris Brunet                Queen’s           1          Calgary, Alta.               Engineering      M         Max Vriend                 MacEwan         1          Barrhead, Alta.            Commerce      S          Ethan Ellison               Laval               1          Toronto, Ont.               Materials Engineering  LS        Dale Towe                   RMC                1          Caledon, Ont.              Business Administration          RS        Brad Gyemi                 Windsor           1          Tecumseh, Ont.           Software Engineering Share this story Top stories from UAlberta