Recruits bolster volleyball lineup

Dalhousie University men’s volleyball head coach Dan Ota is pleased to announce the commitment of Scott Bailey and Nathan Baker to the 2013-14 men’s volleyball team.

As a member of the 17U Maverick Desperados club team, Scott Bailey helped lead his team to a silver medal at last year’s national championships. Most recently, Bailey and his 18U Maverick Mustangs teammates became the Quebec Open champions and will head to the 2013 national championships in May.

An honour roll student, Bailey has been accepted to Dalhousie’s Engineering program. He follows in the footsteps of many Tiger greats to come through Colonel By Secondary School including his current coach Travis MacLean, a former AUS libero of the year with the Tigers.

“I can’t wait to study in Halifax and play volleyball at the university level with the Tigers. It’s a dream come true!” says Bailey.

“Scott is a dynamic outside hitter who has the ability to excel in the front court,” says head coach Dan Ota. “He comes from the Ottawa Mavericks club that has produced many players that have gone on to excel at the CIS level, and we hope that Scott will follow in those footsteps.”

Nathan Baker will also join the Tigers this fall from Clarenville High School in Newfoundland, another program familiar to the Tigers.

A member of Newfoundland’s provincial teams the last three years, Baker led his team to a gold medal at the 2011 16U Eastern Elite Championship. Throughout his club career, he has collected many accolades including all-star awards at the 2010 and 2011 Eastern Elite championships, 2012 18U national championship and was the tournament MVP at Dalhousie’s high school tournament last fall.

“I am very excited to be going to Dalhousie to play for the Tigers men’s volleyball team. I have heard great things about their program and I am looking forward to developing my game under coach Ota. Dalhousie seems like the right place for me to develop both on and off the court.” says Baker.

“Nathan is one of the top graduating players in Atlantic Canada and has accomplished about as much as a volleyball player can at the high school level in Newfoundland,” continues Ota. “With his physical tools we expect him to develop into a solid all-round CIS player. The last player we had from Newfoundland was Max Burt (now with the national team), so Nathan is following some pretty lofty company.”

Ota adds, “With these two athletes, we are adding some much needed depth at the left side position on our roster.”