Muenster’s volleyball phenom Skyler Varga continues to make inroads in the sport, taking a major step toward what could be a flourishing Olympic career. The outside hitter has made a name for himself in Division I NCAA circles, helping bring the Long Beach State 49ers their fourth National NCAA Championship.
While “The Beach” continues to celebrate the win, Varga has packed up for the summer and is currently in Gatineau, Quebec where he’s preparing with the Canadian National Men’s Team to head into a three-week international competition with Volleyball Nations League (VNL). Varga will be joining former USport teammates and adversaries from across the country to test his mettle against the best in the world.
Discover Humboldt caught up with the elite hitter for a run-down on the epic NCAA Championship run and to gain insight into the Team Canada preparations.
“The NCAA win was pretty insane,” admitted Varga. “We had a pretty good team right from the fall. We had a lot of experienced players and high-level players. We knew that from the start, we had a really good chance of winning, especially coming off of the finals last year. We figured that every spot had either been upgraded or at least stayed the same, so we’d have a good shot.”
The road wasn’t an easy one, says Varga, as a number of critical players fell to injury throughout the season. While unfortunate for those players and the team, there were those waiting in the wings who stepped up to the challenge. Varga said it was an all-round contribution from the entire team and a constant shoulder to the wheel work ethic that got them into the playoffs.
In the quarter finals, Long Beach started off against Fort Valley State from Georgia representing the East Conference. Varga noted that the Eastern Conference had not traditionally had teams with powerhouse reputations, but Fort Valley has represented the Conference for the past couple years and had shown marked improvement, he assessed.
“We were able to beat them 3-0 in the quarter finals and move on to the semis, where we had a match up against Pepperdine whom we played earlier in the fall. We had some pretty heavy fights with them, so we knew it was going to be a tough match to get through, but we ended up beating them 3-1.”
UCLA emerged from the other semi-final, setting up a final rematch from the previous year.
“We lost to them last year, so we had a lot of unfinished business with them. We knew what we had to do, having played them and narrowly winning twice before. We knew it would be really hard to beat them a third time.”
Varga says the coaches and team game planned well, fortified themselves, and showed up when it counted, knocking off the champs in three straight to capture the Men’s Division I NCAA volleyball title.
“It was the most complete game of volleyball our team had played in the season. It was awesome to finish off with a strong game for sure.” The top finish makes it four, following championships in 1991 and back to backs in 2018 and 2019.
Back in Gatineau, Varga reunites with some previous teammates from national play and some from his initial days in USport volleyball with the U of S Huskies. Those familiar faces join with new ones in forming a young Canadian National Men’s Team heading into a new Olympic cycle.
“We’ll call it a rebuilding year with a bunch of fresh guys like myself who haven’t seen much international competition or played against professionals. But we have some experienced players who are getting into their pro careers. We definitely have the skills set and the coaching staff to get us where we need to be. The level of volleyball is pretty high, so it’s good to be out here.”
The FIVA VNL matches Canada with teams from around the world in a three weeklong contest. The first two weeks teams will accumulate points in an effort to position themselves for finals week. The Canadian squad starts off in Quebec City. Then the action heads south to Chicago, wrapping up with a trip to Slovenia for the third week.
As Varga gets his initial tastes of international volleyball in some far-flung locales, he’s always mindful of the place where he started - the gymnasium at his home school in Muenster. He also carries with him the skills and spirit derived from those early years with his teammates and coaches, including his parents Darren and Jewel Varga.
“It’s been a crazy ride throughout my volleyball career, and there’s a lot of people back home who don’t get to see me play, except online, but a lot of credit goes out to everybody back home – even the guys who played who didn’t know much about volleyball. We all started somewhere, and it’s important to reflect to that time in high school and club volleyball.”
Varga continues to be a stellar player and a wonderful ambassador for this hometown and province.