As a member of the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack, Nic Balazs has never been better.
Balazs was named TRU's "Leader of the Pack" after the Kamloops-based men's volleyball team beat the visiting University of Regina Cougars 25-15, 23-25, 25-22, 25-16 last Saturday night. Balazs, a second-year middle blocker from Prince George, finished the match with 14 kills in 17 chances and was error-free along the way. To top things off, he also assisted on three stuff blocks.
Not a bad way to head into the Christmas break.
"I've never played like that in my life," Balazs said from Kamloops. "I hadn't dressed the night before because of my knees and we had lost, so I really wanted to win -- really wanted to beat those guys. So I came in relaxed and confident in my abilities and I had one of the better games of my life."
Balazs has tendinitis in both knees and the problem has made it necessary for him to get extra rest on occasion. But, when he plays, he's a TRU starter and one of the most effective hitters in the Canada West Universities Athletic Association. Balazs, in fact, currently ranks fourth in Canada West in hitting percentage, with a mark of .385. In 27 sets, he has slammed 47 kills and made just 10 errors.
Balazs is a 2011 graduate of D.P. Todd secondary school. With the WolfPack, he takes his sets from Duchess Park grad and former Team Canada player Colin Carson, who is now in his fourth season with TRU.
Needless to say, Balazs and Carson have been connecting well offensively.
"He knows where I'm going to be and I do my best to get there," Balazs said. "Being a middle, it's all about timing and showing yourself so the setter can just swing the ball into your hands and you can just smack it down. All through high school Colin was one of my idols for playing volleyball and I think I used to be a bit star-struck by him. I think that wore off at the beginning of this year and now I'm one of his players. I'm not just an admirer anymore."
As a rookie with the WolfPack last season, Balazs was the No. 4 man on the depth chart at middle blocker and barely saw the court. He drew his lone starting assignment when TRU played a January exhibition match in California against the Stanford Cardinal.
Prior to the start of his sophomore year, Balazs was determined to show head coach Pat Hennelly he could be an impact player. Mission accomplished, but when Balazs considers his first-half stats, even he can't help but be a little surprised.
"Honestly, I wasn't expecting to get anything like that," he said. "Coming into the second year I was expecting to maybe play a couple games more. Pat had us all do a goal book, and one of my goals was to start in two games. And as of right now, I've started in every single game I've been able to play in."
And the six-foot-six, 220-pound Balazs isn't just contributing offensively. According to Hennelly, he's the WolfPack's best blocker, quite an accomplishment considering his youth and the fact he's smaller than two of the other middles on the team.
"He's got to move fast and then when he gets there he's got to separate all that quick movement with putting his hands in the right spot," Hennelly said. "He's moving laterally and the attack is coming at him forward. There are a lot of small things that usually take some time to get down and a lot of things have clicked for Nic this year."
As a team, TRU has also been experiencing success. The WolfPack have a 5-7 record and are one spot out of the Canada West playoffs.
Balazs, who is working on an arts degree at TRU, is currently finishing his exams and will be home for Christmas. He's looking forward to the break but is also excited about resuming play with the WolfPack. The team will host a tournament Dec. 29-30 before getting back into Canada West matches in January.
"In the tournament we'll be playing Pepperdine and Dalhousie and UBC so it will give us a good example of what we have to do to beat the top teams in any league," Balazs said.
