KAMLOOPS – The upstart MacEwan Griffins were able to scrap out a 3-1 (25-20, 25-27, 25-19, 25-17) victory over the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s volleyball team Friday night in Edmonton.
TRU struggled to find their groove offensively on the night, hitting .082 per cent as a team in the loss. With just five games left to go in the regular season, the loss could prove to be crucial for the ‘Pack. TRU holds a record of 8-11 and drops one spot in the Canada West standings into the eighth and final playoff position, just one game ahead of both the Manitoba Bisons and Winnipeg Wesmen.
Making his first start of the season, Ethan Olfert had a great day for the ‘Pack. The second-year setter directed the offence to the tune of a career-high 31 assists while also recording a pair of solo blocks. Sam Flowerday had 13 kills to once again lead the ‘Pack with Thundersky Walkingbear adding eight. Michael Svab finished with four kills on his eight attacks and also racked up two solo blocks alongside one block assist.
Mitch Gorman and Jefferson Morrow led the Griffins with 15 kills each, while Alexei Walisser chipped in with 10 digs of his own in the victory. Gorman was also a force defensively, recording 16 digs to lead MacEwan.
The WolfPack came out of the gates on fire, jumping out to a 7-1 lead thanks in large part to a pair of points each from Flowerday and Corbin Ockerman. The Griffins would rally however, as they went on a huge 19-6 run to take a 20-13 lead before holding on for the 25-20 set victory.
TRU showed off their resiliency in the second set. Facing set-point at 24-21, the WolfPack tallied six of the final seven points in the set before a massive block courtesy of Flowerday and Svab gave TRU the 27-25 victory.
Despite the tough second set loss, that didn’t rattle the Griffins one bit. They put together a third set with an attacking percentage of .310, and they just continued to pour it on in the fourth and final set, giving the Wolfpack no chance to gain any sense of momentum or life back into the match.
These teams will be back in action tomorrow afternoon in Edmonton with a scheduled start time of 3:00 p.m.