KAMLOOPS – In what was an absolute battle until the very end, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's volleyball team came up just short in a 3-2 (25-27, 29-27, 25-13, 23-25, 15-13) loss to the host UBC Thunderbirds.
Playing in their first Canada West game in 63 days, the WolfPack made sure to make up for lost time with as dramatic of a game as possible. Going all the way to a fifth set and even then falling by only two points, the 'Pack and Thunderbirds were locked together throughout the entire contest.
"I thought we played excellent tonight," said WolfPack head coach
Pat Hennelly. "We came out with defensive intensity and solid blocking. For a group of guys that have not played since November 12, I was proud of the effort and level of play."
TRU out-blocked the Thunderbirds by a tally of 13.5 to 5 in the game, with
Michael Svab leading the defensive efforts with one solo block and seven assisted denials. The Thunderbirds went high-risk, high-reward from the service line, recording 16 aces to the Pack's 6 but also making 37 service errors on the night.
Anton Napolitano,
Thundersky Walkingbear and
Sam Flowerday had nine, seven and seven kills for the 'Pack, with Flowerday also recording three aces.
Matt Neaves had a game-high 17 kills for UBC while Michael Dowhaniuk and Cole Brandsma had 14 apiece. Neaves added 10 aces in the winning effort.
Six blocks in the first set, including a
Thundersky Walkingbear solo block on set point, proved to be the difference for the 'Pack. Flowerday had four kills in the frame as the WolfPack took it 27-25.
The second set was just as tight as the first, the WolfPack led 24-23 but UBC were able to fight off the set point before eventually taking it by a score of 29-27. The Thunderbirds held the 'Pack to hitting just .069 per cent in the set.
A blowout third set was the only time all night that one of the teams was really able to separate themselves from the other. UBC scored 14 of the first 21 points in the set and eventually rolled to the 25-13 victory.
A young WolfPack squad was able to rebound in the fourth however. With the set knotted up at 20-20 A block from Svab and Walkingbear followed by kills from Svab and Flowerday gave the 'Pack a three-point advantage that they never surrendered in a 25-23 victory.
The fifth and final set came down to the slimmest of margins. UBC out-hit the 'Pack .263-.250 per cent and tallied two of their few blocks on the night en route to taking the match.
The WolfPack won't have to wait long for a chance for revenge. These teams will meet again tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. in Vancouver.
"We struggled at time serving and focus but really came back in the 4th and 5th," said Hennelly. "
Riley Brinnen started in his first U SPORTS match and played great. We are looking forward to tomorrow and it was great to play some volleyball."
