Mohawk College is making final preparations for their opening match at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association Men's Volleyball National Championship starting Thursday (March 6) in Moose Jaw, Sask.

The OCAA champion Mountaineers' first opponent is St. Thomas University of Fredericton, N.B. in the quarter-finals.

"St. Thomas Tommies are probably the best east team to come out of Atlantic Colleges Athletic Association (ACAA) in a few years," said Mohawk head coach Matt Schnarr. "They are very athletic and run a faster offence than we generally see on a regular basis in the OCAA. They have two solid left sides and a good setter (to whom) they will go. The other thing they do well is they play with a lot of energy which can be dangerous, so we will have to prepare ourselves for a very tough first round matchup that by ranking looks like a mismatch. But we are ready for a great battle with St. Thomas."

The  Mountaineers' coach, looking at the competition as a whole, thinks any of the top seven seeds could win. "The level of competition has evened out across the country," said Schnarr. "There is no one team to watch out for. It's going to be a great championship and we look forward to showing the CCAA what Mohawk has to offer."

The schedule is as follows (all times CST):

Thursday, March 6
Match 1 - Red Deer Kings vs. St. Jerome Cheminots - 1 p.m.
Match 2 - Humber Hawks vs. CBC Bearcats - 3 p.m.
Match 3 - Mohawk Mountaineers vs. St. Thomas Tommies - 6 p.m.
Match 4 - Douglas Royals vs. Briercrest Clippers - 8 p.m.

Friday, March 7
Match 5 - Losers of Matches 1 & 2 - 1 p.m.
Match 6 - Losers of Matches 3 & 4 - 3 p.m.
Match 7 - Winners of Matches 1 & 2 (Semi-Final) - 6 p.m.
Match 8 - Winners of Matches 3 & 4 (Semi-Final) - 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 8
Match 9 - Loser of Match 7 vs. Winner of Match 6 - 10 a.m.
Match 10 - Loser of Match 8 vs. Winner of Match 5 - 12 p.m.
Match 11 - Losers of Matches 5 & 6 (7th/8th Place) - 2 p.m.
Match 12 - Winners of Matches 9 & 10 (Bronze Medal) - 6 p.m.
Match 13 - Winners of Matches 7 & 8 (Gold Medal) - 8 p.m.

The closing ceremony and awards presentation will take place immediately following the gold medal match.  

Host Briercrest College and Seminary will have the latest results, news and photos from the 2014 CCAA Men's Volleyball National Championship website: 

www.ccaa.ca/national-championship-s15090 

Updates are also available on Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr, and all games will be webcast on SportsCanada.tv.

Source: Mohawk College