KAMLOOPS – Getting it done in straight sets, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's volleyball team had their most dominant performance so far in the 2021-22 season with a 3-0 (25-22, 28-26,2 25-21) victory on the road over the Fraser Valley Cascades.
"It was great to get the sweep on the road," said WolfPack head coach
Pat Hennelly. "We had some nice performances from some first years,
Maxim Turgeon was great from the service line along with
Mason Sodaro in the second set. We struggled with consistency but really fought off Fraser Valley at key times."
The WolfPack outhit UFV .176% - .050% and recorded 12 blocks to the Cascades three in the contest.
"Thundersky and Elgert were the best offensive players tonight," said Hennelly. "The blocking came on in the end led by Anton and
Michael Svab. It was a great win and much needed for our chances at a wildcard."
Sam Flowerday had a game-high 10 kills while both
Thundersky Walkingbear and
Samuel Elgert were extremely efficient hitting 7-15 and 6-12 respectively. Fifth-year utility man
Anton Napolitano led the block party with 3.5 blocks while also recording 17 assists. Rookie
Maxim Turgeon had three service aces for the 'Pack.
The Cascades received 10 kills from Nimo Benne and five apiece from Noah Bouius and Tyson Ardell.
Leading 16-12 at the technical timeout in the first set, the WolfPack were able to use that advantage to ride out the remainder of the frame. Back-to-back kills from Napolitano gave the WolfPack a 21-18 edge and a massive finish from Svab combined with some Cascades errors sent the 'Pack to the first set victory.
TRU had to pull off a massive comeback to take the second set.
Trailing by six points at 21-15, the WolfPack would go on an 8-2 run capped off by an Elgert kill to tie things at 23-23. The teams then traded points, with Flowerday getting two kills in a row, before Turgeon put the game away at the service line. The first year from Calgary served up back-to-back aces to give the 'Pack the set victory.
The WolfPack were determined to complete the sweep in the third set. With the teams tied at 18, TRU's defence took over. The 'Pack refused to let a ball hit the floor and kills from Flowerday, Elgert and Napolitano along with an ace from Walkingbear and some stellar defence put the game away.
The win was the second of the year for the WolfPack and had massive implications on the playoff picture. The 2-7 'Pack took another step towards a wildcard berth into the Canada West postseason with the result.
The rematch between these two teams will go tomorrow evening at 5 p.m. in Abbotsford. That game can be watched live on canadawest.tv.
