Game Information
Date: Friday, Jan. 21 – Saturday, Jan. 22
Time: 5:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m.
Location: Tournament Capital Centre
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KAMLOOPS – After a long 70-day wait the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s volleyball team will return to the friendly confines of the Tournament Capital Centre this weekend when they take on the Fraser Valley Cascades.
Hosting UFV on Friday at 5:0 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 p.m., the games will be the first Canada West action on home court for the ‘Pack since November 13.
The weekend will go a long way in determining the playoff fates for both teams in what is a tight west division. The 1-5 WolfPack hold down fourth place in the division while the 0-6 Cascades are in fifth. The top three teams from the three Canada West divisions automatically qualify with three further wildcards also getting in, so finishing fourth in the division will be key.
The WolfPack nearly picked up the weekend split in Vancouver last weekend against the UBC Thunderbirds. The ‘Pack dropped a marathon game on Friday night by a score of 3-2 before being swept 3-0 on Saturday. Anton Napolitano led the team in both kills (15) and assists (29).
This weekend will be the first time the Cascades play a regular season game since all the way back on December 3. In their last action they were swept by the Trinity Western Spartans by back-to-back scores of 3-0.
There will be history made inside the TCC this weekend regardless of the outcome. This is Fraser Valley’s inaugural season of Canada West play and Friday will mark the first time that the two rivals will meet in meaningful action.
3 Things
1: Fans 12-and-over attending the games will be required to show proof of full vaccination and masks are mandatory inside the TCC.
2: Per provincial guidelines attendance will be limited to 50 per cent capacity.
3: Cascades head coach Nathan Bennett was a long-time assistant coach with both the WolfPack men’s and women’s programs.
By the Numbers
2 – The Pack’s two leaders in kills-per-set – Napolitano (2.55, 21st) and Samuel Elgert (1.88, 36th) – are the only two players in the top 40 in kills-per-set in the conference to also average over one assist-per-set.
1 – The WolfPack’s lone win of the season so far came in their last action inside the TCC gym, a 3-2 triumph over the UBC Okanagan Heat.
19 – Michael Svab leads the team with 19 total blocks, 10 of which came last weekend against UBC.