SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. —
Ethan Boyd was destined to play for the Dalhousie Tigers.
The 20-year-old Summerside native is following in the footsteps of his parents, Stephen and Kelly Boyd. He recently completed his second year with the Dalhousie men’s volleyball team, the same team his father played for. His mother played for the Dalhousie women’s basketball team.
“I didn’t have much of a choice as to where I was going to go to school,” said a laughing Boyd, who is studying business management.
Boyd, the 2017-18 senior male athlete of the year at Three Oaks Senior High School in Summerside, said he’s enjoyed his first two seasons with the Tigers, which has included some challenges.
“It’s been pretty exciting for me,” said Boyd. “I didn’t go in with expectations of playing right away (so) getting a bit of playing time in my first year was nice.
“Then, this year, with the injuries, I had to step into a full-time starting position. That was a nice challenge for me at that level.”
The Tigers play in the five-team Quebec conference with UNB, Sherbrooke, Montreal and Laval. It was a tough 2019-20 season for the Tigers, who went winless in 16 matches.
“We had a couple of key guys get hurt before the season started and they were out all year with injuries,” said Boyd. “That was pretty tough for our team to deal with.”
A six-foot-four left-side hitter, Boyd started 13 matches in his sophomore campaign. In 15 matches, he had 112 kills, 48 sets, 63 digs and 132 points.
“What I think is most significant is that Ethan had started the year projected to be our fourth or fifth left-side player,” said Tigers head coach Dan Ota. “It is fair to say that he did not rank near the top in any of the key skills in September.”
Ota noted improving at the U Sports level is extremely difficult.
“Most players do not achieve their personal goals,” he said. “The fact that Ethan had finished the year as our top left side is a significant achievement.”
“It’s been pretty exciting for me. I didn’t go in with expectations of playing right away (so) getting a bit of playing time in my first year was nice. Then, this year, with the injuries, I had to step into a full-time starting position. That was a nice challenge for me at that level.”
- Ethan Boyd
Boyd, who credited the strong programs at Three Oaks and at the provincial level for preparing him for university, explained there was a big adjustment period going from high school volleyball on P.E.I. to the Quebec conference.
“Since we transferred to the Quebec league a couple of years ago, my first year, their system works a little different than ours,” said Boyd. “Their first-years are the age of our third years. They are 21 and we are coming in at 18.
“Pure size alone and maturity were probably the biggest challenges for young guys like me.”
Ota described Boyd as one of the Tigers’ most improved players. He noted playing the left side is not easy and requires players to excel in several areas, including passing, attacking, serving, blocking and defending.
“No other position requires excellence in such an array of skills,” said Ota. “The demands on Ethan were high and despite the tremendous challenge, he successfully worked to improve in all of the required skills.”
Despite coming off a tough campaign, Boyd is excited about Year 3 with the Tigers.
“I think we are going to have one of the top teams in our conference and maybe make a push for a medal,” he said. “After this down year, I don’t think teams will be expecting too much from us.
“But with all our bodies back and healthy, and some nice recruits coming in, I think we are going to make a lot of noise in our conference.”
