The  Thompson Rivers University WolfPack kept themselves mathematically in the hunt for a playoff spot in Canada West men's volleyball.  The Pack split their weekend series with the Manitoba Bisons as they took the visitors in five sets on Saturday night (Jan 11) at the Tournament Capital Centre.

The scores were 25-20, 25-23,21-25,17-25,15-12.  The WolfPack up their record to 3-11 .  Manitoba is now .500 at 7-7.

Thompson Rivers had two players in double figures  when it came to kills.  Nimo Benne (1^st year, outside hitter, Castricum, Netherlands) was the main threat again.  In this match,  he had 19 kills in 45 attempts with eight digs and three service aces.

Charlie Bringloe (5^th year, outside hitter, Waterloo, ON) had 16 kills in 30 opportunities with five digs and four block assists.   Samuel Elgert (2^nd year, setter, Athabasca, AB) had 50 assists, two service aces, three digs and one block assist.  Elgert was named "The Den Leader of the Pack player of the match."

Manitoba was led by rookie Ben Carleton (2^nd year, left side, Brisbane, AUS) with 18 kills in 30 chances with two digs, a solo block and three block assists.   Keven Negus (5^th year, outside hitter, Sioux Lookout, ON) had 15 kills in 34 opportunities with six digs and four block assists.  Jack Mandryk (3^rd year, setter, Lockport, MB) had 42 assists, six digs and two block assists.
 
 SYNOPSIS

Thompson Rivers head coach Pat Hennelly did some tinkering to his starting line up for this one as he inserted rookie Brody Kopec (outside hitter, Red Deer, AB) and setter Elgert .   Those moves seemed to give his club a 'jump' off the bat. The teams exchanged points until TRU took an 8-6 advantage thanks in part to a kill and a block courtesyof Benne.  Manitoba cut the deficit and took the lead at 12-11 following back to back kills by Canada West kills per set leader Negus.  It was TRU who made it to the 16 point tech time out first  (16-14) thanks to four scoring points out of middle Sam Taylor Parks (5^th year, Kelowna, BC).    In that first set,  TRU went on a 5-0 run to lead by four (18-14) which prompted Manitoba boss Garth Pischke to call a time out.   Benne had eight scoring points in the first set.  Fellow rookie Corbin Ockerman (middle, Elk Point, AB) had three as the Pack took the opener 25-20.  Negus had six kills to pace the Bisons.  TRU with seven service errors in the first set compared to four for Manitoba but the Pack out blocked the opposition 4-1.

The Bisons scored the first two points of set two . The teams exchanged points with the Bisons getting to 16 first (16-15) getting that point when Taylor Parks committed an attack error. Both sides executed some high skills in the set with the biggest lead in the set being 2.  Bringloe was 'dialed in' for the WolfPack in the second set notching six kills in nine swings in the set. TRU winning that second stanza when Manitoba committed a service error. The score 25-23 for the home boys.  Negus had four kills for the Bisons.

Facing an early night, Manitoba captured four of the first five points of the third set including one on a service ace by Negus.  Down 5-1, TRU was forced to call a time out.  It didn't seem to help as the Pack were trailed by seven (9-2) as the Bisons scored five in a row.  The WolfPack cut the deficit to three (13-10) as Elgert made some great sets to Benne and Kopec.  Manitoba reached the technical time out up 16-12. Down by four,  Hennelly brought in his veteran setter Anton Napolitano (4^th year, Victoria, AUS) and had both he and Elgert on the floor in an effort to shake up his offense. For two points, both set the ball before the Australian was removed.  Facing set point and down 24-19,  the Pack scored two in a row to trail by three (24-21) prompting Manitoba to use their second time out of the set. The tactic worked as Bringloe served the ball into the net.  Manitoba 25  TRU 21 in set three.   Carleton  had six kills for the Bisons in that set.  Matthew Campbell (1^st year, right side, Winnipeg, MB) had three.

The fourth began with Manitoba taking a three point lead before the Pack narrowed the gap to one (6-5).  But a string of errors resulted in the Bisons go up by seven into the 16 point time out (16-9).  The Pack went on a 4-0 run spurred on by a key kill from Bringloe followed by a block courtesy of Kopec which cut Manitoba's lead to 18-16.  The Bisons squared the match taking the fourth set 25-17.  Carleton had six kills for Manitoba in that set. Bringloe with four for the WolfPack.

The fifth set began with the Bisons going up by three.  TRU rallied and tied things up at six. When Benne's kill attempt left the playing surface, Manitoba carried an 8-7 lead as they switched sides.  A Kopec block on the right side gave the home team a 10-9 advantage.   Kopec then got the next point on a kill  to put the Pack up by two.  But back to back points by Manitoba squared things up again (12-12).  A  kill by Bringloe followed by an attack error by Carleton put the Pack up 14-12 before a block by Taylor Parks gave Thompson Rivers the victory 15-12
 
 
VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: 
https://youtu.be/79Vwzuws81w
 
WHAT THE COACHES SAID::
 
TRU head coach Pat Hennelly:
https://twitter.com/GoTRUWolfPack/status/1216241222215299073
 
TRU setter Samuel Elgert (2^nd year, Athabasca, AB):
 
https://twitter.com/GoTRUWolfPack/status/1216240814201769984

Manitoba coach Garth Pischke (38 th season)
https://twitter.com/GoTRUWolfPack/status/1216241024453902337
 
 
UP NEXT:

Next weekend (Jan 17-18), the WolfPack will be in Calgary meeting up with the Mount Royal Cougars while the Bisons will be at home entertaining the UBC Thunderbirds.  The WolfPack will return to the TCC on Friday, January 24^th when they entertain the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat.  Match time will that night will be 5 PM PDT.

All of the above games can been seen on a pay per view basis on Canada West TV  presented by Co-op by accessing: https://cw.yaretv.com/.   Results will be available on the WolfPack social media platforms and their website  www.goWolfPack.ca.