KAMLOOPS – For more than 50 years the student-athletes at what is now Thompson Rivers University have been winning championships, setting records and gaining national acclaim. That winning tradition was furthered this morning after former WolfPack men's volleyball player Kevin Tillie won gold with Team France at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
 
Playing with the WolfPack for two seasons from 2009-2011, the outside hitter was named Canada West and CIS Rookie of the Year in 2009-10. The product of Cagnes-sur-Mer followed that up with a 2010-11 campaign that saw him earn a spot as a Canada West First Team All-Star and CIS Second Team All-Canadian. In his two seasons in Kamloops Tillie helped the team to back-to-back playoff appearances including a fourth place finish at the National Championships in 2009-10.
 
At the Olympics Tillie was used primarily as a serving specialist, committing just two errors on his 19 serves prior to the gold medal game. Tilie, who is the son of the French National Team head coach Laurent Tillie, helped France pull off the upset of the tournament. After finishing fourth in pool 'B' with a 2-3 record, France knocked off a Poland team that was 4-1 and the winners of pool 'A' in the quarter-finals. France then strolled past Argentina in the semifinals before the three sets to to victory over the team from the Russian Olympic Committee.
 
While the medal went to Tillie he was far from the only WolfPack content at the Tokyo Games. Gord Perrin, captain of the Canadian men's volleyball team was one of the standouts on a MapleVolleys squad that went 2-3 before bowing out in the quarter-final round. Perrin led the way with 66 points for Canada, tied for 17th in the tournament, and was one of the most efficient finishers at the Olympics.