Although the Ontario Matadors still have some time before they need to be ready for next season, the team is already preparing for significant line-up changes. After his last match of Event 3 against the Las Vegas Ramblers, Opposite Jacob Vander-Beek shared his decision to play for Team Durham team in the Volleyball England Super League.
Team Durham, which the University of Durham funds, has recently won the last English Cup Tournament in 2018/19 and has taken second the previous two years of the English Super League. It’s Jacob’s plan, like many others, to use the experience to gain his masters degree and gain more international exposure in the hopes of finding a full-time paid contract to play overseas.
“I’m most looking forward to meeting more good volleyball players around the world. Also, since my mom is from England, I’ll be seeing a lot of my family that I haven’t seen much growing up in California.” – Jacob Vander Beek.
Jacob won’t be the only Matador alum to be headed to Durham this next year as Zackary Philyaw returns to Durham to pursue a Doctorate in Social Psychology. Zackary Philyaw was a team member when Team Durham won the English Cup, and Jacob will likely have the same impact on the league this year. As excited as Jacob is to be embarking on his new journey, he has enjoyed being part of the league’s growth this season.
“I’ve liked the NVA more this season than last year as we’ve been able to play more than one event. It’s nice having more opportunity to correct your record after a bad weekend performance. To be able to play in a full season over a couple of months rather than a weekend is a great change.” – Jacob Vander Beek.
Check out the link below to watch the replay of Jacob Vander Beek’s best performance so far of the 2021 season against the LA Blaze. There, fans will also find live coverage of the Matadors quarterfinals against the Vegas Ramblers on the first day of the championship weekend, July 9th – 10th. Make sure to follow Jacob (@the_beek), Zackary (@zphilyaw), the Ontario Matadors (@matadorsnvausa), and the NVA (@nvausa) on Instagram to stay connected with the team and catch highlight clips from Event 3.
(154) 2021 NVA CUP: LA BLAZE V. ONTARIO MATADORS – YouTube
- By NVA Staff Writer