PARKSVILLE — Further to Tuesday’s story on VIU Women’s Volleyball head coach Shane Hyde, The News also caught up VIU Athletic Director Bruce Hunter who confirmed, “oh yeah, it was super-exciting for us to win that gold medal at home.
“You don’t get a chance to win a national title on home court very often — it’s never been hosted on the Island anywhere, so it was really exciting.
“We had great crowds out — huge fan support. It was a wonderful weekend.”
As for his Parksville connection, “Shane’s a great coach — he’s probably the best recruiter in the country, and his team is always super organized, disciplined on and off the court,” said Hunter.
“His team is always one of the top achieving academic teams as well as one of the highest achieving athletic teams every year, for sure.
“There’s no fancy bells and whistles, but like I said, one of Shane’s greatest strengths is his ability to recruit top players, and once you get a top team like that, good players want to come and play for a good coach, and our women’s team has shown that.
“We’ve been a powerhouse for years now, both in B.C. and in Canada ... we’re very happy to have him on our staff, that’s for sure.”