Mason Sodaro
Archie Golding - LeftRight Media
3
Winner Alberta Golden Bears ALB 10-5,10-5
1
TRU WolfPack TRU 6-11,6-11
Winner
Alberta Golden Bears ALB
10-5,10-5
3
Final
1
TRU WolfPack TRU
6-11,6-11
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Alberta Golden Bears ALB 25 22 26 25 (3)
TRU WolfPack TRU 17 25 24 22 (1)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | | TRU WolfPack

WolfPack go toe-to-toe with Golden Bears on Senior Night

QUICK FIRE
  • They were in every set until the very end, but the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men's volleyball team couldn't find a way past the Alberta Golden Bears in a 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 26-24, 25-22) loss on home court Friday night.
     
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
  • Alex Howard was efficient on the night for TRU, finishing with 12 kills on just 20 attacks with two errors for a hitting percentage of .500. Playing the final home weekend of his WolfPack career, Rylan Ibbetson added 15 kills, two aces and seven digs.
  • Matt Shand with 18 kills and Jacob Sargent with 13 kills powered the Golden Bears offence.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Howard led the way with five kills in the first set, but the WolfPack couldn't match Alberta's efficient offence in a 25-17 loss.
  • The WolfPack bounced back in the second. With the set tied at 14-14, a 5-1 WolfPack run that featured solo blocks from Parker Bailey and Lincoln Wagner gave TRU a 19-15 edge. Alberta made it close at 22-21 but a pair of Howard kills late in the frame saw TRU pull out the 25-22 victory.
  • The third set couldn't have been any closer as Ibbetson exploded for six kills to lead the way for TRU. Alberta took the lead in the latter stages and claimed a trio of set points at 24-21. TRU refused to go down without a fight as a pair of Ibbetson kills combined with a Golden Bears attack error knotted things up at 24-24. The comeback wasn't meant to be however, as two-straight points for Alberta gave them the set by a score of 26-24.
  • The Golden Bears put the game away in the fourth in yet another close set. The 'Pack fought back after trailing 18-12 all the way to make it 21-20 with a Howard ace putting an exclamation point on the run, but that was as close as TRU could get in a 25-22 defeat.

NOTABLE
  • Prior to the match the WolfPack celebrated the careers of graduating student-athletes: Tyson Koop, Rylan Ibbetson, Mason Sodar and Owen Waterhouse.
  • With a record of 6-11, the WolfPack are ninth in the conference. The top ten teams in the conference make the postseason.
 
QUOTABLE (WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly)
  • I think we made some average decisions from the service line that cost us a little bit tonight.
  • Alex Howard had a big night, I thought he served and passed really well. Rylan Ibbetson had another good night with 15 kills, he's just racking them up.
  • We need a more consistent middle attack, Alberta has two of the biggest guys in the league but we still have to go after them.
  • We just seemed to have a lull every once in a while and drop a couple points but we had great comebacks at the end of sets. That third set would have been a great comeback and might have changed the course of things. We played with them, it just felt like there was a tiny bit of not believing in ourselves at times.
  • Matt Shand and Jacob Sargent played great for Alberta so credit to them. We can't hang our heads on that but I think we should have been in the fifth set tonight so hopefully tomorrow we have a chance to reset.
  • ON THE GRADUATING STUDENT-ATHLETES: "Mason and Rylan have been here for five years grinding it out, they are team captains and selfless guys that epitomize everything we want from players. Koop brings a lot of enthusiasm, he's always out there in the community and making sure guys are taking care of their school. We have been missing Waterhouse for two years now so it's great to send him off with his best friends Mason and Rylan.
 
UP NEXT
  • The WolfPack will look to split the weekend when they take on these very same Golden Bears tomorrow (Jan. 31) at 4:45 p.m. inside the TCC.
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