University of Toronto Varsity Blues head coach John Barrett was honoured as Ontario University Athletics (OUA) announced men's volleyball major awards and all-stars on Wednesday afternoon.

Fifth-year veterans Aleksa Miladinovic and Stefan Ristic were also honoured as OUA second team all-stars, while first-year libero Andrew Kos was named a member of the OUA all-rookie team.

In his fifth season as Blues bench boss, Barrett helped the Blues bounce back from a 4-16 record last season to a fourth-place finish and 13-7 standing in 2015-16.

Barrett, who won CIS gold and was named tournament MVP in 1985 while competing for the University of Manitoba, wins the award for the first time in his career and becomes the first Blues coach  to win the award since Orest Stanko following the 2000-01 season.

The Blues high-powered aerial attack was fueled by Miladinovic, who finished the regular season in the top 10 in assists per set (9.54) and digs per set (2.20).  Miladinovic notched a career-high 57 assists as the Blues upset the Western Mustangs, 3-2, two weeks ago at Goldring Centre.   

Ristic, a fifth-year Italian/German major, finished second in the conference in kills per set (4.02), service aces per set (0.47) and points per set (4.7).  Despite appearing in just 13 games this season due to injury, the Belgrade, Serbia native finished 14th in OUA with 223 points and helped the Blues to their first home playoff game in the last 12 seasons.

Kos, a first-year kinesiology major from Toronto, finished the 2015-16 season ranked second among OUA liberos, averaging 2.64 digs per set.

MEN'S VOLLEYBALL MAJOR AWARDS
Most Valuable Player – Stephen Maar – McMaster Marauders
Rookie of the Year – Chris Brunet – Queen's Gaels
Coach of the Year – John Barrett – Toronto Varsity Blues
Dale Iwanoczko Sportsman Award – Mike Tomlinson – Queen's Gaels

FIRST-TEAM ALL-STARS
Stephen Maar – McMaster Marauders – Left
Danny Demyanenko – McMaster Marauders – Middle
Andrew Kocur – McMaster Marauders – Setter
Erich Woolley – Waterloo Warriors – Libero
Braden Cok – Waterloo Warriors – Right
Marko Dakic – Queen's Gaels – Left
Arthur Szwarc – York Lions – Middle

SECOND-TEAM ALL-STARS
Stefan Ristic – Toronto Varsity Blues – Left
Aleksa Miladinovic – Toronto Varsity Blues – Setter
Lucas Coleman – Ryerson Rams – Left
Pawel Jedrzejewski – McMaster Marauders – Libero
Mike Choja – Western Mustangs – Middle
Josh Edwards – Windsor Lancers – Middle
Mike Tomlinson – Queen's Gaels – Right

ALL-ROOKIE SELECTIONS
Craig Ireland – McMaster Marauders
Matthew Passalent – McMaster Marauders
Brad Gyemi – Windsor Lancers
John Moate – Windsor Lancers
Chris Brunet – Queen's Gaels
Dale Towe – RMC Paladins
Andrew Kos – Toronto Varsity Blues
 
Source: OUA