The 2019 Volleyball Manitoba Awards & Hall of Fame Banquet was held last night, Sunday June 9th at Canad Inns Destination Centre Polo Park. In addition to celebrating our annual Age Class Club Award winners, the evening also included this year’s Volleyball Manitoba Hall of Fame inductions.
Photos from the Banquet will be posted to our Facebook page. Stay tuned!
Congratulations to this year’s Hall of Fame inductees (click below to expand):
Growing up in Noel, Nova Scotia, life with friends and family (8 siblings) was full of sports for Stephen Densmore, everything was a competition. And still is.
Stephen’s family moved to Halifax when he was 12 where his High School had a strong volleyball program who won the Provincial Championships 2 of 3 years. He was fortunate to have strong, knowledgeable coaches in all sports he participated in, with volleyball being his favourite he participated in. While attending Dalhousie University, Tigers Head Coach Al Scott became a huge influence and continued to foster Stephen’s interest in coaching while attending University.
Upon graduating from university he found a job in Cross Lake, MB, where he stayed for two years before applying for a position at Virden Collegiate where he remained for 33 years. Upon his hiring he was asked to coach the Varsity girls volleyball team and then eventually the JV team, and that laid his path for the next 33 years at the school, and where he continues to build volleyball in the town and region.
Some highlights and successes from Stephen’s career include the following:
- 33 years as a Physical Education Teacher and Coach (Girls JV & Varsity volleyball) at Virden Collegiate, 1984-2016
- 23 provincial championship or finalist banners in girls volleyball, 8 third place finishes (every player who played during his tenure played in at least 1 provincial volleyball final)
- AAAA Provincial Champions in 96/97
- Convened 8 High School Volleyball Championships over the years
- Won High School Provincial Championships in 4 different sports, Convened Provincial High School Championships in 6 different sports
- 2 time MHSAA Coach of the Year (90-91 & 15-16), 2 Time MHSAA Recognition Award, MHSAA Frank McKinnon Award 2007, MHSAA Volunteer Award
- Formed Club West Volleyball Club in 1987 (32 years in operation)
- 6 National or Western Championships, 8 times National Finalists, 3 times Bronze Medalist
- 16 Time Club Provincial Champions
- Level 3 Indoor and Beach Volleyball Coach
- Past Provincial Team Coach (Indoor),
- Canada Games Beach Volleyball Coach in 2001
- Volleyball Manitoba Developmental Coach Of The Year (XXXX) and Elite Coach Of The Year (XXX)
- Manitoba Games Beach Volleyball Competition Convenor – 2000 Virden Games
- Initiated and operated the High School Beach Championship 2000-2018 (326 teams highest to date)
Stephen retired from teaching at Virden Collegiate a couple years ago but remains busy with volleyball (and other pursuits) as a Provincial Level Referee and continues to operate the Club West Volleyball Club.
Growing up, Louise Wlock Bentley and her siblings were always active in sports. In her early years she enjoyed playing soccer and ringette, and in Junior High playing basketball and baseball. Grade 9 was her first real exposure to volleyball when she tried out for, and made, the Midget (16U) Provincial Team, and her passion for volleyball began.
During her High School years at Tec Voc, Louise continued to play volleyball and basketball, as well as club and Provincial Team every year. This all helped her to continue to improve, being identified to attend National Team ID camps and eventually recruited to play at the University of Manitoba, starting in all of her 5 years there, and then to eventual participation with Team Canada.
Highlights of Louise’s involvement in volleyball include the following:
- Member of Provincial Teams, Club & High School Teams, 1989-1993
- Tec Voc High School Varsity Volleyball Most Valuable Player & Female Athlete of the Year (3 Consecutive Years)
- 1992 MHSAA Provincial All-Star & Winnipeg Sun #1 Ranked High-School Volleyball Player, Graduating All-Star Team
- 1992 Volleyball Manitoba Juvenile (18U) Tier 1 Provincial Gold Medalist, Player of the Year
- 1993 Team Manitoba NTCC Gold Medalist, Tournament All-Star – Oshawa, ON, and Canada Summer Games Team, Bronze Medalist – Kamloops, BC
- 1994 & 1995 Volleyball Manitoba Cheryl Cable Memorial Junior (20U) Player of the Year
- Member of the University of Manitoba Bison’s 1993 – 1998:
- 1993-1994 – GPAC Conference Rookie of the Year, Conference Silver Medalist, CIAU/CIS Bronze Medalist & Championship Tournament All-Star
- 1994-1995 – GPAC Conference First-Team All-Star, Conference Champions, CIAU/CIS All-Canadian Honorable Mention, National Championship Bronze Medalist & Tournament All-Star
- 1995-1996 – GPAC Conference First-Team All-Star, Conference Silver Medalists, CIAU/CIS Second Team All-Canadian & National Championship 5th Place
- 1996-1997 – GPAC Conference MVP, Conference Champions, CIAU/CIS First Team All-Canadian, National Championship 4th Place & National Championship Tournament All-Star
- 1997-1998 – GPAC Conference MVP, Conference Champions, CIAU/CIS First Team All-Canadian, Player of the Year, National Championship Silver Medalist & Tournament All-Star
- 1997-1998 – University of Manitoba Female Athlete of the Year, Howard Mackie Nominee for Canada’s Most Outstanding Female University Athlete
- Still holds the record at UM for All-Time Digs at 2,437, best single season serving % at 2.02, best single match passing percentage at 2.93, 3rd overall for all time aces at 232 and 2nd overall for all time spike attempts at 5,541
- National Team Involvement 1994-2000
- 1994 – Member of the CIAU National B Team
- 1995 – Canadian National Junior Team Member, FISU World Student Games Fukuoka, Japan
- 1998-2000 – First starting Libero for the Canadian National Women’s Volleyball Team
- 1998 – Canada Cup Silver Medalist, Top Passer, Tournament All Star, Winnipeg
- 1999 – World FISU Student Games, Palma de Mallorca Spain
- 1999 – Pan Am Games, Winnipeg, & NORCECA Championships Bronze Medalist, Mexico
- 2000 – Nike America’s Challenge Olympic Qualifier, Silver Medalist, Lakeland Florida
Louise also had success playing beach volleyball competing at national events, continues to play volleyball with Senior leagues in Winnipeg and recently with the FOG Team at the US Open winnining the silver medals and selected as a tournament all-star.
Ardith Lernout Parker’s interest in sports began very young while watching her older brother play hockey & football, even wearing a hockey jacket that had ‘#1 Fan’ on the sleeve. At an early age her goal was to be a CFL football player. She eventually started participating in sports herself, including figure skating lessons, gymnastics, dance and baseball.
Her first experiences with volleyball began while attending Pembina Crest Junior High and playing for their school sports teams, and then attending the Peace Gardens Volleyball Camps. During this time she also participated in basketball and track & field with long jump, hurdles and 100m and 4x100m being her strong events in Junior High and High School. All of this eventually led her to success on the courts at Vincent Massey Collegiate, club volleyball dominance, and then as a 5 year starter with the University of Winnipeg National Championship dynasty program.
Highlights of Ardith’s involvement in volleyball include the following:
- Member of Provincial Teams, Club & High School Teams, 1981-83
- Vincent Massey Collegiate (Winnipeg): JV Champions (1981), AAAA Varsity Silver Medalists (1983). 1982 & 1983 Provincial MHSAA Tournament All-Star.
- 1982 Kildonan Volleyball Club Midget (16U) Provincial Champions & Western Bronze Medalists
- 1983 Wesmen Juvenile (18U) Provincial Champions & National Champions (Scarborough, ON)
- Member of the University of Winnipeg Wesmen 1984-89
- 1984-1985 – GPAC Rookie of the Year, GPAC Champions, CIAU/CIS Champions (York, ON)
- 1985-86 – GPAC Champions, CIAU/CIS Champions (Moncton, NB)
- 1986-87 – GPAC Champions, CIAU/CIS Champions (Winnipeg, MB), All-Canadian and National Championship All-Star
- 1987-88 – GPAC Champions, CIAU/CIS Champions (Sherbrooke, QC), National Championship All-Star
- 1988-89 – GPAC Champions, CIAU/CIS 4th Place (Saskatoon, SK), All-Canadian
- Defeated Tsukuba University (Japan Champions) 3-1 at UW in 1987, Defeated Aoyama University (Japan Champions) 3-0 at UW in 1988, Defeated Minnesota Monarchs Professional Team 3-0 at UW in 1988.
- 1987 – CIAU/CIS Athlete of the Week (Nov 1987)
- 1984-89 won approximately 26 of 29 national university tournaments with Wesmen.
- 1987-89 won 123 consecutive matches with University of Winnipeg Wesmen from November 1987 to January 1989.
- Member of Team Canada for a Europe Tour in May 1987.
Ardith was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in November 2001 as a member of the 1987-88 University of Winnipeg Wesmen. Following her university career she has also competed at Beach Volleyball Nationals and was a member of the Prairie Fire Senior Women’s Volleyball Team who were provincial champions in 1990 & 1991, and National Silver medalists in 1990.
(L-R) Louise Wlock Bentley, Stephen Densmore & Ardith Lernout Parker