Elliott Viles was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia. As a young man picking up a volleyball for the first time, Viles knew moving to North America would give him a good chance to hone his skills while playing a game he loved.
Just moving wasn't that easy; however, for the outside hitter as he needed to find a team first to play on. The search for a team ended a few years ago as he crossed the Pacific Ocean on a flight to join the Brandon University Bobcats men's team in September of 2016. Now going into his fifth-year, Viles is on the verge of breaking some Bobcat history and even has the chance to pass one of the greatest Australian born volleyball players in history.
With his fourth season now in the past, Viles off-season includes celebrating a feat that only one athlete in Bobcats athletics gets to celebrate after a long season. The Aussie has been named the Brandon Bobcats' male athlete of the year for the second time in his career which shows how good of a collegiate career he has had.
"Yeah, that's a huge honour for me. There have been so many great athletes that have won this award in the past and there were so many great Bobcats athletes this year," said Viles.
Normally, BU hands out its award at a year-end banquet; however, because of COVID-19, the plan for the said banquet was put on hold. Instead, he received a call with the news.
"It was pretty unfortunate that there wasn't a banquet and I think everyone is thinking the same thing, but it still means a lot and I'm honoured," he added.
Viles racked up 271 kills this past season and 39 aces as he helped the Bobcats advance to the conference semi-finals. The totals were also the third-best in the conference in both kills and aces.
"I'm really happy with everything I did this year," continued Viles. "We had some ups and downs throughout the season so I think riding the wave was tough at times, but I tried to stay locked in throughout the season and I think I did a pretty good job of that."
Although Viles was a busy man every time he hit the court, on January 18, the Australian was extra busy. Playing against the University of Calgary Dinos, Elliot had 57 attacking attempts and he added up 27 kills which add up to a .316 hitting percentage. Viles also had four service aces and 31.5 points total, the most of any Bobcat or Dinos player. Although Brandon lost that game in four sets, Viles and the Bobcats did get the last laugh.
On February 21, following a three-set sweep the night before, Viles had another 21 kills in a four-set win as Brandon swept Calgary.
"I was definitely a bit sorer in the days following that and my arm was certainly feeling it," he continued. "We had some injuries at that time so I knew I would get a bit more of the load so I had to prepare for that. Although we didn't win that game, I was just trying to do whatever I could to help the team."
With his 39 aces, Viles has now added up 123 over his four-year career at BU. That's just 21 behind Sanderson who as mentioned above is one of the greatest BU players of all time and he's also one of the best Australian players to ever play the game. Elliott is also just 30 shy of the Canada West record which was set by Eric Loeppky this past season.
When it comes to attacking, his 271 kills now have him at 957. That's 400 behind Sanderson so it's going to be hard to catch him, but if he gets a few more games with 57 attacks in a game, you never know. Roy Ching (1,242) and Sam Tuivai (1,094) sit in second and third place, respectively when it comes to all-time kills as a member of the Bobcats.
Viles will need 286 kills next season to pass Ching while he needs just 137 to pass Tuivai.
"You see those guys and the success they've had, they're so talented and I never put myself in that tier," continued Viles. "It's pretty cool that I'm in the same area as those guys and I guess I look forward to trying to pass them next season. I certainly also look up to Sanderson, he was a force here and he was a force on the world stage."
Viles university volleyball career will come to an end after next season, but not without one more chance to play for a national title. The Bobcats are hosting the national tournament which gives them an automatic berth and it will be the second time he's played in the event.
That means that one season after Viles put up ridiculous numbers and moved one step closer to being in the top-3 of Bobcats volleyball history, he will have the chance to win a national banner in the gym he's called home for the past four years.
His story began in Adelaide, South Australia when he first picked up a volleyball; however, his university story will end in the same place it started, the Healthy Living Centre on the Brandon University campus.
"It's super exciting and super cool. Making the nationals is also the goal," he added. "Knowing that we're hosting the event is a great feeling. The end goal is winning that championship and raising a banner to the rafters at BU."
"We have incredible community support in Brandon and I know they will be out in full force for that," concluded Viles.
After his career does come to a close at BU, Viles hopes to play professionally.
