OOC: For the purpose of this roster, the
results for the QOVO.1 season is available. This season's result won't be submitted for the IVF's Volleyball Champions League (VCL) entries.
Quebec and Shingoryeo Men's and Women's National Volleyball Teams - VWE 13 The Royal Quebecois Volleyball Federation, in continuation of its practice also shared by Basketball Quebec (BQ) and Quebecois Handball Federation (QHF), is proud to continue its practice of sending mixed teams with expanded rosters to international competitions, even as the QOVO.1 leagues gender-separated. In terms of who the team plays, the RQVF maintains a different policy than BQ, who operates a 16-member roster updated every matchday, and will maintain a straightforward policy:
- Quebecois men will play against male teams. In case there is no specified team due to lack of roster in past (generally counted as tournaments VWE 9 onwards), or there is a mixed team that mostly consists of male players, the male team will play.
- Quebecois women will play against female team. If there is a mixed team that mostly consists of female players, the women's team will play.
- In case of mixed or nongendered gender teams, the RQVF will send a dualsex team.
Team Jerseys - Designed by Neo (Lisander)
Quebecois Volleyball In Nutshell Alongside (ice) hockey and basketball, Volleyball's considered one of the three indoor jewels of the Quebecois winter sports. It is one of few countries in the Multiverse where both men's and women's indoor volleyball have remained highly popular, and the QOVO.1 and QOVO.2 leagues sees fairly even television ratings and attendance figures among both sexes.
Unlike the basketball teams, the volleyball teams maintain separate heights, with the women being slightly taller than average (OOC: compared to RL, that is) and men having roughly average heights, and the RQVF competition policies reflect this. The parity of talent and international success shared between the Quebecois men and women, as well as the fact the two national team programs had played against each other for most part, means that there is less need and even lesser need to double-squad the benches.
That said, this version of Grim Reapers is no different than most of their top 10 opposition in their ability to ride the benches, and will actively use the substitutions where needed. One may argue that is where their strengths lie - consistent depth - but that may also be a different word for 'lack of a clear best 7' (see the each team info).
For this cycle of the Volleyball World Expo, the Royal Quebecois Volleyball Federation have taken an aggressive measure to review their roster, mostly due to the 2051 Quebecois Commonwealth Games being held on the home soil right after the olympics. For this edition of Grim Reapers, this had meant that some veteran members from past (no key players though, most of key players will be playing in both) were left out of contention in favour of playing them there. While vast majority of the team have stayed the same, with those marked with an * has been given to those who will be making their VWE debuts, either on the 12-man roster or as an alt), the slight difference in personnels and starting lineups for the Quebecois men and the women should provide this team enough of a challenge that the RQVF hope to respond well.
OOC Note: With the last part, it's mostly based on how the Asian Games, regional games that matter a lot to many Asian nations, are held right after the FIVB World Championships. How the Asian Games are viewed by volleyball federations depend on each nation - the Japanese rarely send their best, the Koreans prioritise Asian Games over World Championships (a matter I find to be tragic and short-sighted), and the Chinese depending on each quad schedule (In 2014 Chinese women sent second-teamers, a bulk of who became part of the gold medal-winning team in Rio 2016, while they sent full squad in 2018).
Quebecois Men - Life Goes Along Entering his third straight Volleyball World Expo as the manager, Pierre-Stephane Jobin has named the Quebecois men's team as they look to continue the team's rising form in the international competition, especially following the gold-medal performance by the Under-25 team. For most part, Jobin's been fortunate to return most of those who had taken part in the past national teams, with eleven players from the last VWE team, and nine from the Olympic team coming back to the 19-player entry that includes 7 alternates. The lone exception, Middle Blocker Mathieu Ethier-Leblanc, was left out of the national team after solid two-year period, where he was most recently selected to the QOVO.1 first team, due to a knee surgery that will keep him out for first half of the QOVO.1 season with Shawinigan Skywalkers.
For most part, the team's basic bones have remained the same under Pierre-Stephane Jobin, with Ahn Seung-Min continuing as the team captain and the team built around three locker room leaders in Ahn, Zackaël Lapierre, and Byeon Jeong-Wook. With that said, the three new additions are ones to note on their own right. Middle Blocker Sung Han-Yong, was one of the last to have been left off of the national team training camp for the last VWE. Since then, he has become one of the best middle blockers in the country, being named the best Middle Blocker in last year's Olympics tournament and Quebecois Intercollegiate Sports MVP over the last 12 months. It remains to be seen on whether Sung will be able to beat out Gye Joo-Seong, Guy Tille-Nadon and Dong-Joon Etchemin-Wakan for the second starting spot in this position, but his footwork alone should be able to generate solid blocks in the middle blocker group that has gotten better over time.
As for the other two newcomers to this Quebecois men team in setter Jin Chang-Wook and utility hitter Benoit-Antoine Aplin, they are expected to strongly contend for starting minutes as well. Benoit-Antoine Aplin, the pin who can play both positions, is undersized but makes up for it with his spike height (350cm!) and magnificent power, and he is expected to compete with Todor Asparuhov for the starting opposite after Ahn Seung-Min eventually retires in near-future. Jin Chang-Wook, mercurial setter who was named the Olympic tournament MVP last summer in Bunjil, Electrum, is another character of his own, but we'll talk about that right below. As for rest of the team, most of the big names return- Libero Zackaël Lapierre, who returns for his fifth straight tournament, is once again the sole libero on the 12-man roster, while all-arounder Alanis Hair-Lewis and explosive Ivan Stankic, whose overhead spikes are a treat, are expected to start on the left side. Byeon Jeong-Wook once again returns as the starting middle blocker, and while he has gotten slower in steps over the years, he is expected to be relied upon as the team looks to test Tille-Nadon, Gye and Sung as the second blocker.
In terms of storyline for this team, the most notable one will be at the setter position, not because of competence but because of the depth. Benedict Jeon returns for his third straight VWE, as the 28-year old has played well for both Perce and the Grim Reapers for over half a decade now. While he has not been a classical Quebecois men's setter in any mould, preferring to set high and reliant upon a clear opposite, he's a proven winner and is going to be named starter for position. Still, the handle could easily turn around, especially with the arrival of Jin Chang-Wook. Jin, the defending olympic tournament MVP last summer, is a shorter setter with higher ceiling. After his indomitable performance with Queen's College and the Olympics, he signed with Vreton Bulls of Bollonich, where he has starred ever since. For long time, he has been expected to be a potential superstar, and after having won the olympic gold, it intrigues the Quebecois public on how Jin, whose temper and tendency to set quick and low are well known, could challenge the starting position. If all works out well, and if Benedict Jeon struggles, this could possibly be a tournament where he breaks out.
Coaching and Technical StaffHead Coach: Pierre-Stephane Jobin, 47 - Shawinigan Skywalkers
Assistant Coaches: Yi Joon-Cheol, 40 - California University
Andrew Bryant-McCullis, 38 - St. John's Spiritair Jumbos
Team Doctor: Dr. Hong Soo-Wan, 55 - RQVF
Physiotherapist: Claude-Andre Echequan, 29 - CSKA Quebec VC
No Name Surname Age Ht. Position Team
02 Seung-Min Ahn 30 1.94 Oppose (RS) Montreal Koreana VC
05 Zackaël Lapierre 29 1.87 Libero (Li) Montreal Koreana VC
06 Benedict Jeon 28 1.91 Passeur (S) Perce Soohyeop Armada
07 Todor Asparuhov 22 1.99 Oppose (RS) Perce Soohyeop Armada
09 Han-Yong Sung *22 2.08 Centre (MB) CSKA Quebec
10 Ivan Stankic 23 1.99 Réceptionneur-attaquant (OH) St. John's Spiritair Jumbos
11 Jeong-Wook Byeon 31 2.07 Centre (MB) Attawapiskat Blaze
13 Joo-Seong Gye 23 2.03 Centre (MB) Shawinigan Skywalkers [from Hanyang College]
14 Benoit-Antoine Aplin *21 1.92 Outside/Opposite (OH/RS) CSKA Quebec [from Hanyang College]
16 Chang-Wook Jin *21 1.85 Passeur (S) Vreton Bulls (Bollonich)
15 Alanis Hair-Lewis 26 2.02 Réceptionneur-attaquant (OH) Dynamo Sillamaye-Sotke (Gatchingerrak Union)
17 Jong-Doo Bae 19 1.94 Réceptionneur-attaquant (OH) Ottawa Avian Spark
------ ALTERNATES ------
03 Gustave-Paul Filatriault 24 1.89 Passeur (S) Baja Calania Blazer
04 Joon-Hwi Kim 22 1.81 Libero (Li) CSKA Quebec VC
08 Dong-Joon Etchemin-Whakan 33 2.08 Centre (MB) Fakel Gatchinovo (Gatchingerrak Union)
12 Guido Santarelli 28 1.96 Outside/Opposite (OH/RS) Montreal Koreana VC
19 Guy Tille-Nadon 23 2.05 Centre (MB) London Nonghyeop Planthoppers
21 Théodore Sinotte *26 1.94 Réceptionneur-attaquant (OH) CSKA Quebec
25 Seung-Rok Oh *22 1.96 Réceptionneur-attaquant (OH) London Nonghyeop Planthoppers [from Kingston Polytechnic]
Quebecois Women - Questions ContinueFor most part, the same story of keeping up with their reputation continues from the Grim Reapers' women, as they return to face strong competition in women's volleyball, where there is no shortage of elite to world-class competition known to them (HUElavia, Mytanija, Cassadaigua, Baker Park, and Siovanija and Teusland are generally those the Quebecois keep in alarm, following the federation issues currently in place in Banija). Grim Reapers' legend Kim Yu-Jin once again returns to coach the Grim Reapers women, and her squad returns most of the major core that had beaten all but one of their international rivals over Kim's tenure as the Grim Reapers coach. Keep in mind- they have yet to beat HUElavia, their achilles' heel. This is still a fairly young squad, even with their relative experience, and with the '9th trio' of Marinne Veronneau, Alexanne Bayley and Nadine-Erin Page not retiring from the sport anytime soon (national team would be a different story though), life should go on as usual for Team Quebec.
Alexanne 'Lexie' Bayley returns as the Grim Reapers' women's captain. The 31-year old, who plans to retire from the national team after this cycle, has never really been a dominant player due to weaker power on her spikes, but more than makes up for it with libero-like defence, great block height and leadership. She is expected to be succeeded as the team captain by 22-year old Yang Soo-Gyeong, who is universally viewed as the icon of the Quebecois women's team. The outside hitter, whose trademark spike is a cross on a deep angle, is viewed by many as the next 'Brittany Veronneau', and is expected to contribute heavily on both offence and defence, especially back row defence.
On the opposite side of the pins, we have a couple of strong options in Natalie Wesoloski-Okafor and Natalia Horakcova. Wesoloski-Okafor had a successful breakout tournament last WVE when she scored 26 and 18 points in quarterfinal and semifinals victories over Cassadaigua and Mytanija, and her record-breaking season this year, when she scored 541 points in the QOVO.1 season, seems to suggest the trajectories. That said, while the opposite has performed at otherworldly level at times, Natalie does have tendency to commit errors at various stretches (OOC: usual example I think of it is Paola Egonu - everybody knows she's world-class opposite but she did have a poor olympic tournament), and it is expected she be substituted at times with Natalia Horakcova, shorter, faster opposite with much more powerful swing.
Unlike the men's team, Setter is the weak spot of this team, which coach Kim, the setter from the 2030 Novonaya-Provinsk team that won the gold medal, has said over and over again. Kim Yu-Jin made it no secret that with Karina Benn Fernandez's retirement after the last VWE, they will have to build their team around younger setters, with the leading candidate being Chae Sang-Heui. Chae, who returns for the third VWE, is the best setter this country has after spending past two, impressive seasons with CSKA Quebec, where she used the team's strength on height well. But it is clear to anyone that Chae's not been at the level we've seen from Naloe Miro (setter from the 2020 Centralis-Nassau Bay team that won gold), coach Kim, or the legends of 1980s or 1990s. Chae is expected to face lots of competition from Marissa Donovan, a veteran whose reliability with Kingston drew the technical staff's attention over the QOVO.1 season, or Elisabeth Rousseaux, a major prospect with her love of feeding the middle blockers. Huge part of this Team Quebec's performance will come down to how well the setters perform over the course of the term.
As for the rest, most of the key names return. Both starting middle blockers in Erin MacDonald, powerful blocker, and Marine Veronneau, an all-arounder who has singlehandedly led Winnipeg Winterhawks to an unlikely QOVO.1 Final run in upsets over both Montreal Koreana and CSKA Quebec, return. Ekaterina Kaganovich is a young, promising middle blocker who is expected to succeed Veronneau in due time, while new additions in Nancy Krief-Livingston (good location) and Monika Dubrowska (height and power) are ones to watch in their own right. And of course, to no one's surprise, Nadine-Erin Page returns as the team's libero. Page is often left underrated due to Yang and Bayley's presence on defence, but her ability to set the ball is a crucial asset for the team that likes to set the passes fast and at any direction, and her leadership remains important to this team as well, especially with Bayley struggling with injury at various points.
Coaching and Technical StaffHead Coach: Kim Yu-Jin, 43 - Swanguard Athletic
Assistant Coaches: Miguel Jorge Arrado, 40 - Halifax Antebellum
Kenneca Obomsawin, 36 - Montreal Koreana
Team Doctor: Dr. Hong Soo-Wan, 55 - RQVF
Physiotherapist: Claude-Andre Echequan, 29 - CSKA Quebec VC
No Name Surname Age Ht. Position Team
01 Ekaterina Kaganovich *19 1.97 Centre (MB) VK Magevskaya (Mytanija)
02 Natalie Wesoloski-Okafor 21 1.96 Oppose (RS) Montreal Koreana VC
03 Marissa Donovan *27 1.81 Passeur (S) Kingston KD Bank Stars
04 Nadine-Erin Page 29 1.71 Libero (Li) Halifax Antebellum
07 Erin MacDonald 24 1.95 Centre (MB) Montreal Koreana VC
08 Natalia Horakcova 26 1.83 Oppose (RS) Sept-Iles QGC
09 Sang-Heui Chae 22 1.82 Passeur (S) CSKA Quebec
10 Soo-Gyeong Yang 22 1.94 Receptionneur-attaquant (OH) Atletik Thessia (Mytanija)
13 Nancy Krief-Livingston *24 1.83 Receptionneur-attaquant (OH) Swanguard Athletic
14 Marine Veronneau 30 1.94 Centre (MB) Winnipeg Winterhawks VC
17 Alexanne Bayley 'C' 31 1.94 Receptionneur-attaquant (OH) Iskra Palmyra (Gatchingerrak Union)
99 Monika Dubrowska *21 1.86 Outside/Opposite (OH/RS) Gander Avro Comets [from University of Kingston]
------ ALTERNATES ------
05 Ye-Rahm Kweon 21 1.79 Libero (Li) Winnipeg Winterhawks (from UPRI)
11 Helene Nault-Tenerowitz 25 1.91 Receptionneur-attaquant (OH) CSKA Quebec
12 Zina Villeneuve-Booshie 26 1.86 Oppose (RS) CSKA Quebec
13 Elisabeth Rousseaux *20 1.79 Passeur (S) Université du Saguenay
16 Ji-Young Hong *29 1.77 Passeur (S) Montreal Koreana VC
20 Aurelie Sokanon *25 1.88 Centre (MB) Swanguard Athletic
42 Sheila Riquelmet Donne *20 1.84 Receptionneur-attaquant (OH) Kingston KD Bank Stars
My opponent, if they RP first, may do the following:
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