All six Thunderbirds come together to celebrate a point, Gavin Moes has a fired up smile on his face
UofA Athletics

Men's Volleyball Toby Kerr (UBC Communications)

'Birds embracing high expectations entering climactic season

This is the year for UBC men's volleyball.

No one with the program is dancing around it, the talent and experience are there at every position, all of the team's starters have returned, and the T-Birds are holding themselves to the highest possible standard as they start the new Canada West season.

The journey begins with a visit from the defending national champion Brandon Bobcats for back-to-back games at War Memorial Gym. The season opener is set for 5:30 p.m. (PT) on Friday, followed by a rematch on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. (PT).

"Simply put, I think we've got our sights set on a national championship," stated UBC head coach Mike Hawkins, entering his eighth season leading the team.

"I don't think we're afraid to talk about it, put it in the room, we're very aware that's our goal. We're not solely focused on that being our only measure of success, this program's always going to prioritize developing our individual athletes into national team or professional athletes, but in terms of what this collective group is able to accomplish, that's where our bar is."

The T-Birds are embracing this lofty goal after winning U SPORTS Bronze two years ago with most of the same core, and following that up with an undefeated campaign at home last year.
 


After years of simmering success that saw the team's key ingredients continue to congeal, the heat is being turned up for the 2025-26 campaign because it's the last dance for three key figures on the roster.

Mason Greves has been the team's starting setter from the moment he donned a UBC uniform. Now entering his fifth year, Greves is likely to become the program's all-time leader in assists in the home opener and is on pace to climb to second in conference history in that category. Had the Canada West season not been shortened from 24 to 20 games during Greves' time as a T-Bird, he would have been on pace to set the all-time conference mark. Greves is currently playing with the Canadian Senior National Team and was also third in the conference in digs last year.

Logan Greves, Mason's twin brother, also enters his fifth and final year of eligibility as the clear-cut top player in his position in the conference. The two-time reigning Canada West Libero of the Year led the conference in digs in 2024-25. He is poised to solidify his place as third in program history in digs, and push for top-10 all-time in the conference.

The other fifth-year on the team is on-court captain Kieran Robinson-Dunning. The middle, who transferred to the T-Birds from Camosun College after winning two CCAA Championships, has become the vocal leader of the team, as well as topping Canada West in hitting percentage by a wide margin last season.

"Kieran plays with a certain mindset, and a certain demeanour, that's just allowed him to be incredibly successful," praised Hawkins. "He had one of the best attacking seasons in Canada West history last year, but I think his biggest growth might be in the way that he's asserted himself as a dominant leader in our group."
 


One key addition off the court, that could help push this group over the top, is a deeper investment and focus on mental performance.

"We're very fortunate that we've added Dr. Shaunna Taylor to our coaching staff this year," noted Hawkins. "She's a very reputable mental performance coach who's worked for numerous national sport organizations. I think that in a month and a half she's already done some really good work with guys, in terms of team culture and identity, as well as individual stuff."

The journey to the U SPORTS Championship in March starts with a battle against the defending national champs, the Brandon Bobcats. The T-Birds defeated the Bobcats in all four matches last year, including a pair of 3-0 sweeps at War Memorial Gym in the Canada West playoffs. Brandon still qualified for the U SPORTS Championship as the tournament host, before going on an incredible run to take home the first national title in program history.
 


"A Grant Wilson coached team is always going to be really gritty, a really good block defence team," analyzed Hawkins. "They still have potent attackers, especially with Liam Pauls, who's been playing with the Next Gen roster this summer.

"They're going to be a really difficult opponent. We had success against them last year, but with the fluidity of our conference, it's hard to compare rosters and performances from last year. Each team is going to have a 0-0 record and it's going to be about who shows up on Friday night and who can double up and bring it again on Saturday."

The UBC men will be playing the first half of their doubleheaders with the women's squad during the season's first semester, which means the T-Birds and Bobcats will square off at 5:30 p.m. (PT) on Friday and then 4:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday.

Tickets can be purchased here. Stream all UBC Volleyball action, live or on demand, on Canada West TV, powered by BioSteel.
 
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Players Mentioned

Logan Greves

#4 Logan Greves

Libero
6' 0"
5th
Mason Greves

#8 Mason Greves

Setter
6' 0"
5th
Kieran Robinson-Dunning

#20 Kieran Robinson-Dunning

Middle
6' 8"
5th

Players Mentioned

Logan Greves

#4 Logan Greves

6' 0"
5th
Libero
Mason Greves

#8 Mason Greves

6' 0"
5th
Setter
Kieran Robinson-Dunning

#20 Kieran Robinson-Dunning

6' 8"
5th
Middle