Canada West Women's Volleyball: Quarter-final - Mount Royal vs Manitoba
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘One good season and your life can change'
It was approximately 1 a.m. on Tuesday when Mason Kraus, exhausted and bleary-eyed, touched down in Winnipeg after 28 hours of delay and layover-filled travel from Chile. The 23-year-old was happy to be home but didn't regret it for a second. 'It was not great, but I'd do it again,' Kraus said Wednesday. AXEL CHRISTIANSEN PHOTO University of Manitoba Bisons guard Mason Kraus captained Team Canada to a second-place finish at the FIBA U23 3X3 Nations League tournament. The local hoops standout recently made his international debut, leading Team Canada to a runner-up finish at the FIBA U23 3X3 Nations League tournament in Punta Arenas. Kraus, a Canada West First Team All-Star guard with the University of Manitoba Bisons and 2025 second-round draft pick of the Winnipeg Sea Bears, was never supposed to play in the event, but after a player dropped out last minute, he was asked to meet the team in South America on three days' notice. Shortly after arriving, Kraus was named the team's captain by his teammates before the tournament began. 'To be the captain of the team after basically not going to the thing, it's a crazy confidence boost and… it was crazy to see that, 'Mason is our guy,' and put straight faith into me,' he said. The event was taxing. Teams played six three-game tournaments — a total of 18 games — in seven days. Team Canada won the fourth stop and recorded a pair of second and third-place finishes along with a fourth-place finish in the other legs, ending second in points behind the U.S. in the Americas 2 conference. With a win, the Americans earned an automatic berth to the Nations League Final, which takes place in Xiong'an, China, in September. Meanwhile, Team Canada's fate is in the hands of a selection committee, which will decide whether it qualifies for the league final via a wild-card spot. 'It was a great experience,' Kraus said. 'Obviously, everyone plays different types of basketball, but I've never played at that level. It was a great learning experience, and meeting guys that I played through U Sports.' Also donning the Maple Leaf were Ethan Boag and Shadynn Smid, who have played against Kraus in the Canada West conference over the years as members of the University of Victoria Vikes, along with fellow U Sports players Tate Christiansen, Owen Kenney and Yohann Sam. 'It was crazy just to see them, and just learn things about how they prepare,' Kraus added. 'And then from the basketball standpoint, it was kind of a confirmation that I'm as good as I think I was, and I was able to show that I'm actually able to play at that level.' In 3X3, coaches are not permitted to be on the sideline during games. So it's often up to the team captain to draw up plays during timeouts, which Kraus did effectively. 'To be the captain of the team after basically not going to the thing, it's a crazy confidence boost.'–Mason Kraus The 6-3, 180-pound guard had never played 3X3 competitively beyond a few local tournaments, but his skill set as an excellent shooter and defender made for a smooth transition from five-on-five. 'The one big difference was passing,' he said. 'There's different passes you're supposed to do, and just picking up those little nuances of the game was a little interesting to start, but I feel like I'm a fast learner, and I was able to pick it up.' Played using one basket in a half-court setting, the game moves faster, and the passing windows are tighter. Kraus, who prides himself on being a well-conditioned athlete, noted the pace of the smaller game also requires a player's stamina to be akin to a hockey player's, with his time on the court mimicking a shift on the ice. 'It's funny because the game is 10 minutes long — a normal basketball game is 40 — but there were times I was playing the three's and I'm like, 'I've never been this tired in my life,' and I just played for like 45 seconds straight and that's it,' he said. Kraus won't have much time to rest at home. In fact, he will be living out of a suitcase for the rest of the summer. On Sunday, he and the Manitoba Bisons will depart for Portugal to play a trio of exhibition contests against local teams to prepare for the upcoming U Sports season. Kraus will only be there for nine days before he catches another flight to Paraguay, where he will rep the Maple Leaf once again in 3X3 at the Junior Pan Am Games. It's a jam-packed schedule that won't return him home until the end of August, when he'll have a few days to rest before his university classes resume. However, just like his time in Chile, Kraus wouldn't trade these experiences for anything. 'It's funny because the game is 10 minutes long — a normal basketball game is 40 — but there were times I was playing the three's and I'm like, 'I've never been this tired in my life,' and I just played for like 45 seconds straight and that's it.'–Mason Kraus 'It's been insane, but this is what I always tell my U of M guys: I've had a good U Sports career, but really the last season is kind of what put me on the map. And I always tell them, 'You only need one really good season… and everything else can change,'' he said. 'It's just crazy. One good season and your life can change.' Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. When Kraus returns to the Bisons for his fifth and final season this fall, he is certain teammates and coaches will see a much wiser player, thanks to an already monumental year on the court. 'Little things like that, where I was able to almost take a leadership to a coaching (role), it just builds so much confidence in myself,' Kraus said. 'I'm just excited to be able to bring back my experiences and what I've learned this summer and just apply it.' X: @jfreysam Joshua Frey-SamReporter Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh. Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Ottawa Citizen
3 days ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Stampeders in Week 9 — QB Vernon Adams Jr. up in air to play host Redblacks
Article content Article content Pretty much everyone on the Stamps has got to be feeling it. Article content After all, they're heading into their fourth game in 20 days, and last week's contest took a toll on them health-wise. Article content Adams wasn't the only casualty on the offence. So, too, were a couple of his key receivers — rookie Damien Alford and veteran Jalen Philpot both suffered hamstring injuries. And neither participated in practice Sunday, but Philpot was a limited participant Monday. Article content To boot, the offence is still without clutch receiver Clark Barnes, who's still got an ankle issue and didn't practise Sunday or Monday. Article content 'It's tough on the guys, definitely in the trenches,' added Adams, of the tight schedule. 'I feel for those guys (on the offensive line), but these guys are working hard, they're hitting the weight room, and they're doing what they need to do to get their bodies together. So we had a little lighter practice, I think, just to get guys (healthy) — we got some guys down. So guys are doing what they need to do to be out here.' Article content Article content With injuries to multiple defensive backs last week — Adrian Greene (lower body) and Ben Labrosse (hamstring) were both lost at the field-side cornerback spot, the Stampeders have signed Canadian DB Dolani Robinson. The 6-foot-3, 194-lb. Robinson attended training camp with the Stampeders in May and participated in both pre-season games, notching two defensive tackles, one special-teams tackle and one knockdown. The native of Jamaica and 2024 Canada West all-star with the U SPORTS' Regina Rams was among the final round of roster cuts at the conclusion of camp … DB Tyler Richardson (groin), who started the first four games for the Stamps at boundary-side corner, and DB Jackson Sombach (hamstring) are also injured secondary talents … Labrosse did not practise Monday, while Sombach was a limited participant at practice Monday, as was LS Aaron Crawford (knee) … Other injured Stamps practising fully at Monday's session were OL Josh Coker (ankle) — the starter at right tackle — LB Kelechi Anyalebechi (foot) and LB Justin Herdman-Reed (neck). Article content
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Calgary Herald
Stampeders in Week 9 — QB Vernon Adams Jr. up in air to play host Redblacks
Article content Article content Pretty much everyone on the Stamps has got to be feeling it. Article content After all, they're heading into their fourth game in 20 days, and last week's contest took a toll on them health-wise. Article content Adams wasn't the only casualty on the offence. So, too, were a couple of his key receivers — rookie Damien Alford and veteran Jalen Philpot both suffered hamstring injuries. And neither participated in practice Sunday, but Philpot was a limited participant Monday. Article content To boot, the offence is still without clutch receiver Clark Barnes, who's still got an ankle issue and didn't practise Sunday or Monday. Article content 'It's tough on the guys, definitely in the trenches,' added Adams, of the tight schedule. 'I feel for those guys (on the offensive line), but these guys are working hard, they're hitting the weight room, and they're doing what they need to do to get their bodies together. So we had a little lighter practice, I think, just to get guys (healthy) — we got some guys down. So guys are doing what they need to do to be out here.' Article content Article content SHORT YARDAGE Article content With injuries to multiple defensive backs last week — Adrian Greene (lower body) and Ben Labrosse (hamstring) were both lost at the field-side cornerback spot, the Stampeders have signed Canadian DB Dolani Robinson. The 6-foot-3, 194-lb. Robinson attended training camp with the Stampeders in May and participated in both pre-season games, notching two defensive tackles, one special-teams tackle and one knockdown. The native of Jamaica and 2024 Canada West all-star with the U SPORTS' Regina Rams was among the final round of roster cuts at the conclusion of camp … DB Tyler Richardson (groin), who started the first four games for the Stamps at boundary-side corner, and DB Jackson Sombach (hamstring) are also injured secondary talents … Labrosse did not practise Monday, while Sombach was a limited participant at practice Monday, as was LS Aaron Crawford (knee) … Other injured Stamps practising fully at Monday's session were OL Josh Coker (ankle) — the starter at right tackle — LB Kelechi Anyalebechi (foot) and LB Justin Herdman-Reed (neck). Article content
