Isaac Heslinga repeats as U SPORTS men’s volleyball player of the year

Brandon, Man. (U SPORTS) – Isaac Heslinga of Alberta has been named the 2024 player of the year in U SPORTS men’s volleyball, winning the award for the second straight year. The announcement was made Thursday morning at the All-Canadian Awards Ceremony in Brandon, Manitoba, site of the 2024 championship tournament.

Other major award winners include Easton Dick of Winnipeg, who was named rookie of the year; Matthew Hamilton of Thompson Rivers, who took home the student-athlete community service award; and Chris Voth of Winnipeg, who won the Fox40 Coach of the Year Award.

The 2024 U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship gets underway on Friday at noon (all times Central) inside the Healthy Living Centre on the campus of Brandon University. Play continues through to the gold medal game, which is set for 6 p.m. on Sunday. 

View the official championship website.

Most Outstanding Player of the Year – Isaac Heslinga, Alberta

For the second consecutive season, Isaac Heslinga of Alberta has been named the U SPORTS Player of the Year. The fourth-year outside hitter becomes only the second player to ever win the award in consecutive years, following Terry Danyluk of Alberta (1980, 1981) 

After producing one of the best seasons in program history last year, Heslinga almost unimaginably exceeded those totals in 2024/25. The Orangeville, Ontario product led Canada West and U SPORTS in kills (340), kills per set (4.60), points (385.5), and points per set (5.2).

His 4.60 kills per set are the fifth most by any Bear in a single season, and the most by any player since 1999. Arguably his most impressive stat is a stunning .373 attack percentage, as he committed just 78 errors on 703 attempts this season.

Heslinga also added 104 digs and 25 aces in 2024/25, becoming the Golden Bears all-time leader in aces with 105. He finishes his career second in UofA history with 1,172 kills, third with 1,369.5 points, and third with 3.7 kills per set.

Heslinga is the 11th Golden Bear to be named the U SPORTS player of the year.

Other nominees: Jonathan Portelance (Sherbrooke), Markus Law-Heese (Windsor). 

Rookie of the Year – Easton Dick, Winnipeg

Easton Dick of the Winnipeg Wesmen had a breakout year as he moved immediately into a starting role this year after being a redshirt in 2023-24. He appeared in all 20 conference matches and scored 93 kills and had a 0.352 attack percentage. He added 52 total blocks and a team-leading 12 solo blocks, which ranked sixth in Canada West overall and led all freshmen. Dick recorded an attack percentage of 0.400 or better in 12 conference matches and had at least one block in 19 of 20 games. In total, he finished the season with 131 points and added 35 digs and six aces to his total.

Dick is the second Wesmen to win national rookie of the year honours, following Heath McLeod in 1993. 

Other nominees: Jacob Gendron (Laval), Chris Hoffman (York)

Dale Iwanoczko Award (student-athlete community service) – Matthew Hamilton, Thompson Rivers

Matthew Hamilton of Thompson Rivers won the Dale Iwanoczko Award for his commitment to academic excellence and community service. A five-time U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian in TRU’s School of Business and Economics, Hamilton is an outside hitter that has grown into a leader for the WolfPack both on and off the court. 

Originally from Lethbridge, Alberta, Hamilton has spent the last five years in Kamloops where he has become a fixture on campus and in the community. He serves as a leader in the TRU PACE program where he helps mentor fellow WolfPack student-athletes. He is actively involved with Motionball helping to raise funds and awareness for the Special Olympics as well as helping to raise funds for literacy programs through the Raise-a-Reader initiative. Alongside all of that, Hamilton has also volunteered his time to help coach the next generation of volleyball players with the Kamloops Volleyball Association. 

En route to being named a U SPORTS Academic All-Canadian in five consecutive years, Hamilton has earned a cumulative GPA of 4.17, with a perfect 4.33 GPA this past semester.

Hamilton becomes the second TRU athlete to earn the title of Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner after Colin Carson won it in 2013-14. This is the second consecutive year that TRU has taken come a major national award, after Pat Hennelly took coach of the year honours last year.

Other nominees: Arnaud Bouchard (Sherbrooke), Lachlan McBride (Queen's)

Fox 40 Coach of the Year – Chris Voth, Winnipeg

Chris Voth of Winnipeg won the Fox40 Coach of the Year honours for his success in his first year as head coach of the Winnipeg Wesmen, leading them to their finest season since joining Canada West.

Voth, a former all-star as a player with Manitoba, returned to the province to take the Wesmen job in the summer of 2024 after Larry McKay, who stewarded the program for 35 years, announced his retirement. 

The Wesmen took quickly to their new coach, winning all eight non-conference matches to start the season before beginning the Canada West season with 10 straight victories.

Winnipeg finished the season 17-3 marking the program's best win percentage since going 16-2 in the 1997-98 season. Since Canada West adopted a one-division format in 2002, it was the first time the Wesmen have finished first. 

In addition, Voth’s team was among the leaders in most offensive and defensive categories in the Canada West: The Wesmen were fourth in kills per set (12.14), fourth in attack percentage (.280) and fourth in digs per set (9.50).

Prior to joining the Wesmen, Voth coaches the Swiss professional club Amriswil and has been an assistant on Volleyball Canada’s NextGen program.

Other nominees: Fethi Abed (Sherbrooke), James Gravelle (Windsor).

2024 MEN’S VOLLEYBALL AWARDS & ALL-CANADIANS

Player of the year: Isaac Heslinga (Alberta)

Rookie of the year: Easton Dick (Winnipeg)

Dale Iwanoczko Award (student-athlete community service): Matthew Hailton (Thompson Rivers)

Fox 40 Coach of the Year: Chris Voth (Winnipeg)

First Team All-Canadians

Second Team All-Canadians

All-Rookie Team