Volleyball Manitoba Announces 2016 Inductees into Hall of Fame

The Volleyball Manitoba Annual Awards & Hall of Fame Banquet was held last night, Sunday June 12 at Canad Inns Destination Centre Polo Park. In addition to celebrating our annual awards, the evening also included this year’s Volleyball Manitoba Hall of Fame inductions.

This year’s Hall of Fame inductees include the following:

Lloyd Voth (Builder Category)

Lloyd’s volleyball involvement began in junior high in Morden, MB, when he got cut from the grade 8 volleyball team (he recalls that coach got fired the next year!). Fortunately he continued to pursue the sport and played throughout high school for Morden Collegiate. His first provincial championship was in 1974, in Rivers, MB where his team lost to Thompson in the finals. This all set the stage for the next 40 plus years of involvement in the sport.

The following are highlights of Lloyd’s volleyball involvements and accomplishments:

Played on the UM Bisons 1975-1981, CIAU (CIS) Champions in 1981. Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame Team Inductee
Sr Men’s League 1982-1985, National Champions in 1982
Volleyball Manitoba Board Member & President, 1979-1984
Teacher & varsity or JV coach at St. Pauls High School 1981 – present
MHSAA AAAA Varsity Boys Champions in 2015, 2007, 2006, 1988
MHSAA JV Boys Champions in 2005 & 2006
Certified Beach Volleyball Coach, 2009 Canada Summer Games in PEI, as well as coaching numerous teams to school championship titles
Club Volleyball Coach, 2007 17U National Champions, 2005 15U Western Champions, 1983 Juvenile (18U) National Champions
2012-14 Assistant Coach UM Bisons, 2013 CIS Bronze Medal
Volleyball Manitoba Coach of the Year in 1988 and 2006
Member of the 1999 Winnipeg Pan Am Games Beach Volleyball organizing committee
Event volunteer for the Winnipeg based National Teams

Steve Welch (Athlete Category)

Steve began playing organized sports at an early age, including soccer and then hockey. When he ‘outgrew his hockey equipment’, his hockey career ended and he took up other sports at Laura Secord School. Steve entered Gordon Bell School in grade 7 and began to excel at Track & Field in junior high, before starting to play volleyball in grade 9, and continued to excel at both sports throughout high school. Steve dominated the provincial high jump from 1985-88, matching the MHSAA record (2.04m) in 1987 which held for 13 years, and set the provincial junior record in 1988 (2.09m), which held for 25 years (the same year he competed in the 1988 Olympic Trials).

Highlights of Steve’s involvement in volleyball include the following:

Provincial Team Member from 1986 through 1989, including the 1987 Canada Games (Bronze) & 1989 Canada Games (4^th)
1988 High School (Gordon Bell) City Volleyball Champions, Provincial Grad All-Star.
1988 Juvenile (18U) National Champions & MVP with Jr Bisons
1988 Junior (20U) Nationals Champion with Jr Bisons
1990 Junior (20U) National Champions & MVP with Jr Bisons
UM Bisons 1989 & 1990 CIAU Silver Medals, 1991 CIAU Champions, 1994 CIAU Silver Medal, 1995 CIAU Champions.
5 year GPAC All-Star, GPAC conference MVP in 1991, 1989 CIAU 2^nd Team All Canadian, 1991 CIAU 1^st Team All-Canadian, 1994 Championship All-Star
1986 Jr. National Team World Junior Championships (Bahrain) – 12^th Place; 1991 National B Team – Pan Am Games (Cuba – 5^th Place) & Universiade Games (Sheffield, England – 9^th Place)
1991-1992 Canadian National Team (1992 World League, 1992 Olympic alternate)
Played professionally from 1995-1999 in Switzerland, Austria & Turkey

Keith Sanheim (Athlete Category)

Growing up in Oakbank, Keith was involved in many sports such as soccer, and especially baseball. He was fortunate to have a group of friends that loved all sports and played them together all the time. His participation in sport continued as he entered Springfield Junior High & Springfield Collegiate, playing most sports the schools had to offer. These sports included volleyball, which Keith ultimately excelled at and eventually took him around the world.

Some of Keith’s involvement and accomplishments include the following:

Provincial Team Member from 1986 through 1989, including the 1989 Canada Games in Saskatoon (4^th)
1988 Juvenile (18U) & Junior (20U) National Champions, 1990 Junior (20U) National Champions with Jr Bisons
UM Bisons 1989 & 1990 CIAU (CIS) Silver Medals, 1991 CIAU Champions
MVA Junior Player of the Year (Mark Tennant Award) in 89 & 90
GPAC All-Star (89-91), CIAU All Canadian (90, 91)
1989-91 Team Canada Universiade / B Team – 1991 Pan Am Games (Cuba – 5^th Place) & 1991 Universiade Games (Sheffield, England – 9^th)
1991-2003 Canadian National Team Member
- 1992 Olympic alternate
- World League (92, 99)
- NORCECA Championships (93 – 3^rd, 95 – 3^rd, 97 – 3^rd)
- World Championships (94, 98, 02)
- World Cup (95)
- Pan Am Games (99 – Bronze, 2003 – 5^th)
Played professionally from 1993-2002 in Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Greece & Switzerland
Played with Nemesis in the WMVL, winning the league championship in 2010 & 2011, and Sr Provincials from 2004-2006

Claire Lloyd (Athlete Category)

In the late 1960’s and early 70’s volleyball in Manitoba was in its infancy, and Claire was part of a group that helped set the foundation for all the success that has come since that time. Claire played her high school volleyball at Churchill High School, winning a silver medal at Provincials in 1969. That summer she was voted the International Peace Gardens ‘Female Camp Athlete’, and in the fall joined the ‘Bisonettes’ at the University of Manitoba.

Claire continued to experience success and excellence in the sport of volleyball during the next decade as a player, with some of her accomplishments as follows:

National Champions (CISU) 1971 University of Manitoba Bisonettes
Gold Medal Canada Winter Games 1971
U of M Bisonettes – Plains Conference Champions 1973
1972-73 University of Manitoba Athlete of the Year
1973 World University Student Games – Moscow
1973-1976 National Team Member:
- 1973 FIVB World Cup Oct. 19-28 7^th Place
- 1973 NORCECA – Silver
- 1973 FIVB World Cup – Montevideo, Uruguay – 7^th
- 1974 FIVB World Championships –Mexico 11^th
- 1975 Pan Am Games – Mexico City 4^th
- 1976 Olympics – Montreal 8^th
National Sr Women’s Champions 1977 (Chimos), 1979 & 80 (OTL) and 1982 (Chimo Red Lions)
Retired from playing in 1982
Has coached approx. 60 high school teams at Eric Hamber School, Vancouver from 1976 until retirement in 2009
2000-present – Coach/President -Thunder Volleyball Club (Vancouver)

The 1976-1979 Selkirk Royals Girls Teams (Team Category)

This group of players from 1976-1979 won Lord Selkirk school’s first four Provincial Championships. The countless athletes and coaches that followed ‘held the torch high’ winning another 8 titles. When the Royals won the Provincial Championship in 2014 it was the Lord Selkirk High School’s 12th title, the most provincial championships of any high school in the province.

During this four year period the teams established an overall record of 216 wins and 11 losses, including an unbeaten 58-0 season in 1978. The members and coaching staff during this period were the following:

Nan Calendar (76, 77, 78) Ida Clemons (76, 77, 78)

Bonnie Gessner (76) Susan Hurly (76, 77, 78)

Liza Lippoway (76, 77) Sharon McMurchy (76)

Donna Posnick (76) Kathy Soke (76)

Diane Zoppa (76) Vivian Barthels (77)

Corrinne Baty (77) Shelley Buffie (77, 78)

Lillian Czyrak (77) Jill Goodbrandson (77, 78, 79)

Lisa Sarchuk (77, 78, 79) Sherrey Buffie (78)

Nikki Gusberti (78, 79) Sandy Maksymyk (78, 79)

Keri Peterson (78, 79) Brenda Baty (79) *posthumous

Lori Bruuneau (79 Nancy Gustafson (79)

Sherryl Wilkowich (79)