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With intelligence, instinct and confidence,
Kilb's a killer setter for Trojans
CALGARY — His past includes a volleyball-rich family background. But his coach is also impressed at how Justin Kilb takes the odd peek into the future.
“Justin sees things before they actually happen on the court,” says third-year SAIT Trojans men’s volleyball coach Ryan Marsden of his starting setter. “He plans ahead, and that separates him from other setters.
“He gets the ball to the right players. He knows who’s hot and who’s not. And he knows what the other side is expecting,” adds Marsden. “He might play into the other team’s expectations, just to create an opening somewhere else. He controls the play and dictates what’s going to happen, and that makes him tricky to play against.
“I think it’s pure intelligence and instinct. He’s really starting to get creative, and set things up to create better options offensively.”
The Trojans, who finished atop the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference’s South Division in the first half with an 8-2 record, begin the second half in the ACAC’s elite Provincial Division. They’ll face the King’s University College Eagles of Edmonton in a two-match series this weekend, starting Friday, Jan. 8 in the King’s Gym and wrapping things up Saturday, Jan. 9 at 8 p.m. at SAIT’S Campus Centre.
Kilb, 19, has undergone startling growth since his high school days at Calgary’s Bishop Carroll, in both a literal and a figurative sense. The second-year Trojan has grown two inches since his SAIT rookie season, and at six-foot-four, he’s a full nine inches taller than he was in Grade 10.
As a team co-captain along with Devon Van Nistelrooy (2nd-year left-side, Picture Butte, Alta., business administration) and Dustin Fox (5th-year middle, Spirit River, Alta., radio television broadcast news), Kilb has also matured since being thrown into the ACAC fire during his post-secondary debut in 2008-09.
“The position I play is kind of like quarterback in football,” says Kilb, a SAIT new media production and design student.
“So I’m expected to step up and be a leader. Last year, that was kind of hard, going out there and telling people what to do, because I was coming into a team with much older players,” adds Kilb. “I think I earned that respect last year. This season, it’s easier to get everyone’s attention.”
As the Trojans’ floor general, Kilb doesn’t rack up the gaudy stats, such as kills, digs and blocks, but Marsden believes the young Calgarian is well on his way to becoming one of the best college setters in Canada.
“He’s become more confident in his abilities. He’s always been told that he’s good, but I don’t think he 100 per cent believed it,” says Marsden. “He’s worked out really hard the last year, and he grew a couple of inches, so he’s able to do more than ever physically.
“He’s a fantastic setter all-around, but he can do all the other things as well. He can block. He can play defence. He’s developed a great serve. And his leadership abilities have been enhanced because of that.”
As for his background, well, genetics have definitely helped. His dad, Brad Kilb, coached at the University of Calgary for 18 years, and was a whistle-toter with pro teams in Italy, Switzerland, and Japan, as well as the Canadian junior national team. He’s currently head coach with the Calgary-based Elite West club. Justin’s mom, Bonnie MacRae, starred with the U of C and the Canadian national team, and is a member of the Dinos Hall of Fame.
“All we talk about at our house is volleyball,” says Justin Kilb with a chuckle. “Sometimes it’s a little much, but that’s fine.
“My parents never pressured me to play volleyball. They don’t want me to feel like I was forced into the sport. They coached me for the first seven years of my career, and now it’s nice to have a new coach who can teach me a few different things, and give me a new perspective.”
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