After earning OCAA (Ontario Colleges Athletic Association) bronze medals in both 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 and ascending to a silver medal performance last winter, it would be great if the Cambrian Shield men's volleyball team could work their way right up to the top of the mountain in 2026.

That, however, will not be easy.

With the 2024-2025 starters Kurtis Brisebois, Sebastien Tremblay and libero James Tse all out of the picture this fall, newcomers to the team will have to do some heavy lifting in order to Cambrian to go toe to toe with the likes of Fanshawe, Humber, Conestoga and others.

Still, the Shield find themselves topping the OCAA rankings as of November 17th with a team that sophomore attacker Cale Bast maintains could be even better than last year's provincial finalists.

"A lot of the players that are here are newer to volleyball, but super athletic," said Bast, a graduate of the Lasalle Lancers program and a young man who has been guided by Cambrian head coach Dale Beausoleil since his day at Northeastern Public Elementary School.

"Right now, we're not the best - but by the end of the year, we could be really good. Our potential is insane."

Interesting just how much the bar has been raised in recent years. Apparently a 6-1 record with road matches remaining, pre-Christmas, against both the Fanshawe Falcons (5-1) and Redeemer Royals (3-3) now qualifies as "not the best".

Truth be told, that is fair.

Chelmsford Valley District Composite School (CVDCS) and Cambrian freshman Ethan Wheatley represents very much what Cale Bast speaks of. The first year Electrical major first played volleyball in grade nine, facing SDSSAA Division B competition throughout his secondary school career.

But as they say, you just can't teach 6'9".

"Someone that I played against was on the (Northern) Chill team and he asked me to tryout," said Wheatley. "I don't remember who; or he may have asked my coach to ask me."

Either way, Wheatley would be welcomed into the world of OVA (Ontario Volleyball Association) competitive play just two years ago. "It was a lot faster," said Wheatley with a smile. "I really had to get outside quicker. The sets are not as high so I have to really be on my toes and be ready."

But there is something to be said for training regularly with the likes of Cale Bast, Kyle Perreault and a good number of their Cambrian teammates for whom volleyball has been a way of life for nearly a decade now.

"I feel that playing with people who are a lot better than me is making me better too," acknowledged Wheatley. "I really like that."

And, as Cale Bast can attest, there is also the Dale Beausoleil factor that needs to be mixed into the equation.

"Basics; he just sticks to the basics - always," said Bast of the man who was named OCAA Coach of the Year in 2024-2025 and swept that award on both the men's and women's side three years ago, an unprecedented feat at this level of play.

"Right now, we've done a few more advanced drills, but it's mainly ball control. It's just getting the repetition in. Hitting a down ball to your teammates is still ball control too."

The end result is teams that enjoy a technical excellence that is difficult to match. That was easy to see when an underdog Cambrian squad went spike for spike with the powerhouse that is the Humber Hawks through the opening three sets of last year's OCAA final - a contest that Ethan Wheatley attended, part of a packed-house crowd nearly 800 strong.

"I watched that and was thinking that I would not be playing much in my first year because they were all so much better than me," he said. "But I thought it would be a great opportunity to play in a league that was a lot better than the one I was playing in."

With early signs pointing to an ultra-competitive league this year (no West Division team remains undefeated - and the West has always been much stronger than the East), the progression of this Cambrian team could be the difference maker come the end of February.

"We're focused a lot on blocking and defense," said Bast. "All of us can hit a ball really hard, can put a ball down. We're not lacking offensively at all."

"We're a young team, but we're pretty good."

Rounding out the 2025-2026 Cambrian roster are Jason Diotte, Liam Hansen, Connor Dorsey, Jonas Obridewitsch, Sam George, Colin Lindner, Ethan Lalonde, Greyson Seifert, Connor Kipling, Keith Escabusa, Logan Trottier, Cohen Gillett, Keegan Ryan, Owen Perron and Caleb Bridge.