Volleyball Manitoba is excited to announce the names of five individuals and one team that will be inducted into the Volleyball Manitoba Hall of Fame. Dustin Schneider, Tabi Love, and Lisa Barclay are the three individuals who will enter the Volleyball Manitoba Hall of Fame in the Athlete category. Entering the Hall of Fame in the Builder category are long time contributors Kevin Neufeld and Rick Scott. The final inductee of the 2021 Class in the Team category is the 1992-1997 Goose Lake Raiders Boys Varsity Volleyball teams.
Volleyball Manitoba and title sponsor Brugger Wealth Management will be hosting a stand-alone induction ceremony in Brandon, Manitoba on Saturday, November 27th, 2021 beginning at 1:00pm at the Victoria Inn & Suites to formally recognize and celebrate the outstanding achievements of these inductees. Tickets for the induction ceremony can be purchased here. All attendees will then be encouraged to attend the Brandon University Bobcats Women’s and Men’s volleyball matches later that evening at the Healthy Living Centre in Brandon where the inductees will be further recognized.
For press inquiries and media availability, contact John Blacher, Executive Director at volleyball.ed@sportmanitoba.ca
Dustin Schneider began his volleyball career in Brandon, Manitoba, but his talent and commitment to the game of volleyball took him around the globe. Along his journey, Schneider collected numerous championship titles, individual accolades, and played professionally with five different clubs, leaving his mark at every level of volleyball he played.
Beginning his volleyball career in elementary school, Dustin was introduced to club volleyball shortly afterwards where he attended his first Midget Western Championship with Spankit Volleyball Club. He and his Brandon-based club finished second place at the Western Championships, where Schneider was named a tournament all-star. Dustin’s club career took him to Strike Volleyball Club for his 18U season, a team coached by Schneider’s eventual university coach Larry McKay of the University of Winnipeg. Schneider and his Strike team had a storybook season, going undefeated in Manitoba on route to the Provincial Championship and concluding with the 18U National title, where Dustin was named Most Valuable Player.
Dustin also made his mark on the provincial team program during his youth. During his second summer with the Midget Provincial team, Dustin was named captain of the team. He led his team to capture the Western Canadian Championships in Regina, being named Most Valuable Player of the tournament. To conclude Schneider’s youth career, he captured a Western Canada Summer Games gold medal in Selkirk, Manitoba as well as a silver medal at the National Team Challenge Cup, losing only to the United States Junior National team in four sets in the finals.
Schneider’s illustrious youth career led him to be recruited to play at the University of Winnipeg. As a rookie with the Wesmen, Dustin helped his team make the Canada West playoffs. He was also named to the conference’s All-Rookie team. Immediately following his rookie campaign, Dustin was selected to the U20 Canadian Men’s National team and named as captain. As a U21 player, the University of Winnipeg formed a club team to compete at the National Championships. As hosts, Dustin and the Wesmen club won the gold medal, where Dustin was named once again named as the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. The next week, Dustin attended his first national team tryout. He was cut from the team.
In Schneider’s fourth season with the Wesmen, he was named a First Team Canada West All-Star, helping the Wesmen capture a bronze medal in the Canada West playoffs and a crucial birth to the National Championships. The next week, Dustin led the University of Winnipeg to the CIS National Championship title over the Alberta Golden Bears, being named the tournaments Most Valuable Player. The following season, Dustin would be named a First Team Canada West All-Star, First Team All-Canadian, and a tournament All-Star at the National Championships, where this time the Wesmen fell to the Alberta Golden Bears in the finals.
Upon the conclusion of his university volleyball career, Dustin was asked to try out for the national team by head coach Glenn Hoag. He made his first Senior National Team in the summer of 2008. During his time with the Men’s National Team, Schneider earned many NORCECA Championship medals and honours, including bronze in 2011, where he was named Best Setter, silver in 2013, and gold in 2015 – Canada’s first-ever win at the continental championships. He also finished 5th at the FISU Games in 2010, 7th at the 2014 World Championships, third at the 2015 Pan Am Games, and fifth at the FIVB World League in 2013.
In addition to the Canadian Men’s National team, Dustin also played volleyball professionally for five different clubs in Austria, Portugal, France, Poland, and Israel. He helped his team Benfica of Portugal capture the Cup Championship in 2011 and captured the Polish Cup Championship in 2013 with Zaska Poland.
Dustin and his wife Ashley attended every professional season together and were joined by their son, Theo for his last season in Austria. Today, Schneider is a partner and senior advisor at Unity Insurance Professionals.
Tabitha (Tabi) Love began her prolific volleyball career in Dauphin, Manitoba, and by the time she was just fifteen years of age, she became apart of the Canadian Women’s National Volleyball team. Throughout her volleyball career, Tabi would dominate at all levels of the game and carve out a legendary career spanning more than a decade.
Beginning her volleyball career with the Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School Clippers, Tabi was instantly a force to be reckoned with on the court. She was named the Most Valuable Player in all four years of her years with the Clippers, including a ‘AAA’ Provincial Volleyball title and Most Valuable Player honours in 2008. To round out an incredible high school volleyball career, Love was named the Mike Burchuk Award recipient, presented to one graduating female volleyball player who best exemplifies volleyball commitment, ability, and leadership. Love also found success at the club level throughout her youth career. She captured back-to-back Most Valuable Player honours as Nationals in 2007 and 2008, capturing the national title with the Selkirk Royals in each season. Perhaps most impressive of all throughout Tabi’s youth career was her involvement with the Canadian Women’s National team beginning in 2006 when she was just fifteen years old.
Tabitha broke barriers, becoming one of only a few Canadian women to commit to an NCAA Division 1 volleyball program, where she began with the Minnesota Golden Gophers in 2009 and transferred to attended and compete for the UCLA Bruins in 2011. Beginning in 2009, Tabi brought home Player of the Week honours, Big 10 Freshmen of the Week honours, and was eventually named the Regional Most Outstanding Player in her rookie season. Throughout her career, she collected numerous Player of the Week honours and All-Tournament honours. During her first season after transferring to UCLA, Tabi helped the Bruins captured the NCAA Division 1 Women’s Volleyball Championship, where she was named as a PAC-12 Team honourable mention and was the recipient of UCLA’s Best Newcomer award. In Tabi’s final season of NCAA volleyball, she was named as a First Team All-American, AVCA’s All-Pacific Region team, and given PAC-12 First team honours, while once again being named as Player of the Week on several occasion.
Immediately following her decorated college career, Tabi began her professional volleyball career in Puerto Rico. Beginning in 2013, Love was named an all-star in the Puerto Rican League and finished as a semi-finalist with her team Caguas de Criollas. Her professional volleyball career would take her to multiple club teams and countries over the years, including Poland in 2014, Azerbaijan in 2015 where Love competed in the Champions League, Germany in 2016 where she competed in the CEV League, and Korea in 2017 where she led the Heungkuk Life Pink Spiders in kills and points on route to becoming the regular season champions, including a record-breaking 46-point performance in one match for the Pink Spiders.
While competing professionally overseas, Love continued to represent Canada on the Senior Women’s national team. In 2013, Love competed at a trio of competitions representing Canada, including the Pan American Cup, the FISU Summer Games, and the NORCECA Championships. In 2014, she led Canada at the World Championship Qualifying tournament, where she was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player and Best Spiker. The following year, Love participated in the Pan American Games in Toronto, was a top 3 attacker and scorer at the NORCECA Challenge Cup and finished second in point scoring at the Division 2 Grand Prix, thus concluding her impressive international career.
Tabi enters the Volleyball Manitoba Hall of Fame in addition to her induction as a member of the Dauphin Regional Comprehensive Secondary School’s Hall of Fame in 2017.
There were few championships or awards left unclaimed by Lisa Barclay at each stage of her volleyball career. Beginning her volleyball career in grade seven in Brandon, Manitoba, Barclay’s talent and skill quickly began taking her across the country and around the world.
Lisa began playing volleyball in grade seven at Kirkcaldy Heights School where she was encouraged to pursue the game at the club volleyball level as well. Lisa continued to play and develop as she entered her grade nine year at Crocus Plains Regional Secondary School. Choosing to play on the Freshman team with her friends for her grade nine season, Lisa was encouraged to make the leap to the varsity team in her grade ten year, advancing to the semi-finals of the Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association’s volleyball provincials. Lisa proceeded to lead the Crocus Plains Varsity Girls to back-to-back MHSAA Provincial Volleyball titles in her grade eleven and grade twelve seasons, being named tournament MVP both times.
In addition to Barclay’s stellar high school volleyball career, she also impressed at the club volleyball level. As a member of Storm Volleyball Club for five of her six club seasons, she and her Storm teammates captured two provincial silver medals in her 17U and 18U seasons, where Lisa was named a provincial all-star both times. Despite a lack of gold on the provincial stage, Barclay and Storm Volleyball Club medalled three times at Club Volleyball Nationals, including a bronze medal and a National All-Star nod in her 16U season, and back-to-back National titles and MVP honours in 17U and 18U. Upon capturing the 18U National Championship in 2010, Lisa and Strom earned the opportunity to represent Canada at the NORCECA Championships in Mexico, where the team placed 6th.
Barclay also represented Manitoba on several provincial teams from 2007 to 2010, collecting a pair of silver medals at the 2007 and 2008 National Team Challenge Cups. At the 2009 Canada Summer Games in Prince Edward Island, Lisa and Team Manitoba earned the gold medal. Her experience at the Canada Summer Games remains one of Lisa’s favourite tournaments of her storied career.
Lisa’s volleyball prowess throughout her youth led her to be recruited by the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. Throughout her Thunderbird career, Lisa helped UBC capture four Canada West Women’s Volleyball Championship titles, three CIS National Championships, and one CIS National silver medal. In addition to her team’s success, Lisa also captured numerous individual accolades, including two CIS Nationals MVP honours, one CIS Nationals All-Star nod, two First-Team All-Canadian awards, the CIS Women’s Volleyball Player of the Year title, and the Canada West Female Athlete of the Year award, and well as a nomination for the CIS BLG Award as the top female athlete in Canadian Interuniversity Sport.
Lisa was invited to her first tryout with the Canadian Women’s Senior National team in 2009, but chose to represent Manitoba at the Canada Summer Games instead. Representing Canada with her Storm team at the 2010 NORCECA Championships, it wasn’t until 2011 that Lisa made her National team debut, where she traveled to Shenzhen, China to compete at the FISU Games. From 2011 to 2016, Barclay represented Canada at several Pan American Cups, Grand Prix tournaments, one World Championship tournament, and Olympic qualifying tournaments. In 2015, Lisa found out she would require shoulder surgery. Despite this news, she remained with the Full-Time Training Centre to complete the Olympic quad, ultimately choosing to retire and get her shoulder surgery, formally retiring from the National team in 2016.
Lisa continues to stay in touch with the game of volleyball, playing beach volleyball and hoping to become involved as a coach in the future. She resides in North Vancouver, BC and works as an Occupational Therapist.
For more than two decades, Kevin Neufeld’s name has been synonymous with volleyball excellence in Manitoba, especially in the Westman region. Beginning at the college level, Kevin has coached and contributed to the game of volleyball at every level, leaving lasting memories and numerous championship titles with those who had the opportunity to be coached by one of the greats.
Kevin began his volleyball coaching career as the head coach of the Assiniboine College Women’s volleyball team for the 1983-1984 season. After taking a few years away from the game, Neufeld retuned to coaching with the Crocus Plains Varsity girls in 1997. Neufeld spent 10 years coaching the Plainsmen, leading the program to consecutive MHSAA ‘AAAA’ Girls Volleyball Provincial Championships in 2001 and 2002. Kevin moved on to coach the division rivals, the Neelin Spartans, from 2009 to 2017. Neufeld’s time with the Spartans led to a Junior Varsity Provincial Championship in 2010 and a JV Provincial silver medal in 2011, as well as a ‘AAAA’ Provincial Championship in 2012 and a ‘AAAA’ silver medal in 2013. He was named the MHSAA ‘AAAA’ Volleyball Coach of the Year on three occasions, including 2002 and 2004 with Crocus Plains and 2014 with Neelin.
Outside of his high school volleyball involvement, Kevin continued to grow the game as a club volleyball club founder, director, and head coach. Neufeld founded Storm Volleyball Club based out of Brandon in 1999 and continued to operate the club until 2018. During Storm’s 19-year span, Kevin led Storm programs to two National Championships, including a national title at the 17U age category in 2009 and at the 18U age category in 2010. Following Storm’s 2010 18U National Championship win, the Storm team earned the opportunity to represent Canada at the 2021 NORCECA Juniors in Tijuana, Mexico, where Neufeld was the Head of Delegation for the team.
Neufeld’s successful coaching career also spread to Volleyball Manitoba’s Provincial Team programs. Kevin was a head coach of Team Manitoba from 2002 to 2009, attending National Team Challenge Cups (NTCC’s) and Canada Summer Games. His team’s went on to win two NTCC National Championships in 2004 and 2007 and medaled twice at the Canada Summer Games, including a silver medal in 2005 in Regina, Saskatchewan and a gold medal at the 2009 Summer Games in Charlottetown, PEI. Neufeld remained with Volleyball Manitoba as a mentor coach from 2010 to 2013.
Kevin’s impact on female volleyball was even felt at the university level, where he was named the Interim Head Coach for the Brandon University Bobcats for the 2017-2018 season, guiding the team to a 10-14 record, narrowly missing the playoffs.
In addition to Kevin’s induction into the Volleyball Manitoba Hall of Fame, he was also the MHSAA Grey Cup Legacy Coach of the Year in 2003, Sport Manitoba’s Impact Development Coach of the Year in 2005, and was named to Volleyball Manitoba’s Honour Roll in 2010.
As a hardworking, committed, and well-respected leader with 28 years of coaching experience across Manitoba and the Maritimes, Rick Scott has left a lasting impression on several players and programs.
Rick began his coaching career in Manitoba at the high school level where he spent 15 years, coaching in Norway House, Glenboro, and at Lord Selkirk Regional Secondary School. During his Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association career, Rick’s teams captured seven MHSAA girls volleyball medals, including ‘A’ bronze, silver, and gold with the Glenboro Panthers as well as four consecutive ‘AAAA’ Girls Provincial Volleyball gold medals from the 2004-2005 season to the 2007-2008 season with the Selkirk Royals. Scott was honoured with the MHSAA Volunteer of the Year award in 1999, Coach of the Year Award in 2001, and the Manitoba Volleyball Association’s High School Coach of the Year in 1999 and 2004.
Rick carried his winning ways into the club volleyball scene in Manitoba as both a director and coach. He began as the Glenboro Panthers’ Club Director and Head Coach in 2001 with the Panthers securing the Tier 2 Provincial title, following that up with a silver medal in Tier 2 the following season. Rick moved on to the Selkirk Royals Volleyball Club as Director and Head Coach, leading the Royals to four consecutive Manitoba Volleyball Provincial Championships from 2004 to 2007 and back-to-back National Championships in 2007 and 2008.
Scott also brought success to Manitoba at the provincial team level, including four medals in four summers with the Manitoba Volleyball Association. As a head coach, Rick and Team Manitoba won the 16U Western Canada Elite gold medal in 2004, 18U National Team Challenge Cup gold medal in 2006, and the 17U Western Canada Summer Games silver medal in 2007. As an assistant coach, Scott and Team Manitoba won the silver medal at the Canada Summer Games in 2005.
Rick got a taste for women’s post-secondary volleyball coaching as an assistant coach with the University of Winnipeg Wesmen Women’s Volleyball team for the 2006/2007 season. His success in women’s volleyball in Manitoba soon led to his hiring as the Dalhousie University Women’s Volleyball Head Coach in 2008 – A position he still holds today. During his time with the Dalhousie Tigers, he has led the Tigers to eight consecutive Atlantic University Sport (AUS) titles from 2013 to 2020 to go along with two USPORTS fourth place finishes and one USPORTS fifth place finish. Thanks to his successful Dalhousie program, Rick has been named Dalhousie University’s Coach of the Year on four occasions, the AUS Women’s Volleyball Coach of the Year three times, and received the Marilyn Pomfrey Award as USPORTS Women’s Volleyball Coach of the Year in 2017.
Beyond his USPORTS program, Scott continued to work with youth in Nova Scotia at the club and provincial team level where he is the Tigers Volleyball Club Director and former head coach. Under his leadership, the Tigers Volleyball Club have secured 16 provincial championship titles, including three with Rick as head coach, as well as an 18U National Tier 1 bronze medal in 2017. With Team Nova Scotia, Rick has head coached at the National Team Challenge Cup in 2012 and at the 2013 Canada Summer Games, where he was named Sport Nova Scotia’s Volleyball Coach of the Year.
To round out his stories coaching career, Scott has also spent time with the Canadian Women’s National team, where he was an assistant coach at the 2010 NORCECA Championships and at the 2019 FISU Games in Napoli, Italy. Rick continues to lead and serve the volleyball community of Nova Scotia, the Atlantic University Sport conference, and USPORTS as a member of a variety of committees and leagues.
The Goose Lake Raiders of Roblin, Manitoba were the face of ‘AA’ volleyball in the province during the 1990s, capturing five Manitoba High Schools Athletic Association Provincial Volleyball titles in six years from 1992 to 1997. The Raiders’ success came in convincing fashion as the ‘AA’ dynasty from Roblin routinely routed their opponents to secure their five Provincial titles during this span.
With the entire community behind the team, the Goose Lake Raiders captured the 1992 Provincial Championship in a 2-0 victory in front of a packed home crowd in the Goose Lake High School gymnasium, defeating the Altona Aces 15-9 and 15-4. The Raiders went on to capture three more consecutive titles, defeating Killarney in the finals in 1993 and 1994 and upsetting #1 ranked Niverville in the 1995 final in straight sets. The Raiders would return to glory in 1997 for their fifth MHSAA title in six seasons with a 2-1 victory over the Neepawa Tigers in Roblin with a capacity hometown crowd in attendance.
The Raiders’ teams from 1992-1997 were a motivated and talented group who knew how to win when it counted. Coaches Gulak and Newton consistently praised their teams for their ability to elevate their game in big matches, proving that the Goose Lake Raiders could be and were a contender for the ‘AA’ Boys Volleyball title every season.
The team members and coaching staff during this period included:
Shawn Chase (92) Tim Mohr (93, 94)
Mark Angus (92) Kris Paul (94-97)
Warren Leflar (92) Damon Ironstand (95)
Rick Yakimishyn (92) Jeremy Lungal (95)
Graham Dayson (92) Scott Hudema (94-97)
Clayton Laroque (92) Darren Wandy (94-96)
Trent Kostick (92) Jeff Perchaluk (95-97)
Jason Terlesky (92) Jordan Carriere (95-97)
Jonathan Ziprick (92, 93) Grant Soloway (96)
Nathan Wendell (92, 93) Jamie Mitchell (96, 97)
Scott Brook (92, 93) Steven Soltys (96, 97)
Gary Wallace (92-94) Clayton Mohr (97)
Whitney Nernberg (93-95) Mark Moffit (97)
Jared Cockerill (93, 94) Jaret Nattrass (97)
Trevor Digby (93, 94) Chris Pope (95-97)
Greg Thaczuk (93) Barry Laliberte (94)
Jason Cherowka (93, 94) Dwayne Wandy (95-97)
Eric Laviolette (93)
Tom Gulak (92-96) Hugh Newton (92)
Jarrett Newton (93) Derek Bradley (95, 97)
Brian Burtnack (95, 96) Shawn Paul (96, 97)
Jeff Godwin (Manager, 92)
