Manitoba Bisons coach Ken Bentley going on leave

WINNIPEG — Manitoba Bisons Women’s Volleyball head coach Ken Bentley is leaving the program temporarily.

Bentley, 53, is taking a six month research/study leave. In his absence Jon Hykawy will take over as head coach.

Earlier this year Bentley completed his thirtieth year as Bisons head coach. He has an impressive winning percentage of nearly 72 per cent. (1,014 wins and 397 losses) He’s not only the winningest women’s volleyball coach in school history, but also in all of the CIS. Bentley is taking his first leave in 14 years to try and improve his coaching skills, which will only benefit the Bisons volleyball program in the long run.

“I’m really excited about the opportunity,” said Bentley. “It’s a privilege to have this chance to go out and to see different programs, and how they do things, and how they train. So I’m going to do some studies on some nutrition, some physical training. I’ll be going to the universities to see how they train, how they prepare, how they scout.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I'm really excited about the opportunity," said Bentley. "It's a privilege to have this chance to go out and to see different programs, and how they do things, and how they train. So I'm going to do some studies on some nutrition, some physical training. I'll be going to the universities to see how they train, how they prepare, how they scout."

Hykawy, 51, is certainly no stranger to the Bisons program after serving as an assistant with both the men’s and women’s teams. He’s been coaching for the past 35 years and has extensive experience from the high school level right up to the National women’s volleyball program. Hykawy also spent two years as head coach of the University of Regina’s men’s volleyball program team from 1991-93. He’s also won six National Championships in club volleyball.

“I’ve coached at national team level so I feel like I can step in and coach right away,” said Hykawy. “Ken’s and my styles are very similar. We expect the players to come to train hard every day. If we’re successful in the gym every day, the success will lead to results in the games.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "I've coached at national team level so I feel like I can step in and coach right away," said Hykawy. "Ken's and my styles are very similar. We expect the players to come to train hard every day. If we're successful in the gym every day, the success will lead to results in the games."

“Jon has a tremendous knowledge of this volleyball community, along with a consistent track record of both team success and athlete development,” said Bentley. “He is an excellent tactician of the game and brings the knowledge necessary for this young team to move forward in the most competitive conference in the country.”

The University of Manitoba also announced current assistant coach, Mike Maidment, has been named as Associate Head Coach, while former player Sydney Purvis will be an assistant coach.