Men's Volleyball | 3/17/2025 12:00:00 PM
Having just posted its best record since the 2016-17 season, the York University Lions men's volleyball team was well-represented on the OUA's awards docket for 2024-25.
Chief among the Lions award winners is OUA rookie of the year, outside Chris Hoffman, who, naturally, was also selected to the conference's all-rookie team. Also receiving recognition with all-star nominations were middle blockers Dennis Cota and Alex Dorling, the key cogs of the Lions block, one of the team's calling cards this season. Cota was among the OUA first team all-star contingent, while Dorling was selected a third team all-star.
Hoffman, the psychology major from Uxbridge, Ont., took the OUA by storm despite playing his first eight matches at just 17 years old prior to celebrating his 18th birthday on Nov. 18. He finished second on the team in kills with 165, trailing only Alex Ko. Those 165 kills were good for 23rd in the province and 50th in the nation. His 2.39 kills per set were tied for second on the Lions with veteran Martin Prinsloo, and slotted him tied for 24th in the OUA and tied for 56th in U SPORTS. His best performance of the year came on Feb. 8 when he put up 16 kills and just three errors on 40 total attacks. He was named York male athlete of the week after posting 19 combined kills over a pair of games against the TMU Bold to close the regular season.
Cota, the third-year kinesiology & health science student from Mississauga, Ont., continued his growth this season into one of the top blockers in the province. In fact, he led the OUA in total blocks with 78 and blocks per set at 1.05, his season-high coming on Nov. 23 in one of York's best wins of the year over the Queen's Gaels when he posted 10 in the Lions 3-1 victory. He finished third in the nation in total blocks and seventh in blocks per set. In addition to his defence, the former OUA all-rookie (2022-23) and second team all-star (2023-24) is equally as potent offensively. His 109 kills were good for third on the club, and fourth in the OUA among middles. His best offensive performance of the year came in the final game of the season against the TMU Bold, when he tallied 11 kills on 15 total attacks with just two errors for a .600 hitting percentage.
Dorling, a fourth-year interdisciplinary social science student from Guelph, Ont., earns his first ever OUA all-star selection in what was a breakout year for the former Bishop McConnell S.S. star. He put up a career-high 49 blocks as a compliment to Cota in the middle two years removed from leading the Lions in that category with 44. He also contributed consistently on offence, scoring 86 times via a kill, ranking him fifth on the team. His season-high in blocks was six, which he accomplished in back-to-back games on Nov. 2 vs. Waterloo and Nov. 8 vs. Western. He also amassed a season-best in kills came in the season finale against TMU a single attack error, for an otherworldly hitting percentage of .705.
