KAMLOOPS – Trailing two sets to none and fighting off eight match points, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s volleyball team battled all night long to record a 3-2 (19-25, 19-25, 25-18, 28-26, 24-22) win over the UBC Okanagan Heat.
“We are going to be a team that is going to win close games and the guys embraced it tonight,” said WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly. “That’s how we’re going to have to win, we aren’t going to blow teams out, we are going to have to grind it and everyone is going to have to contribute.”
There were eye-popping numbers recorded throughout the WolfPack lineup but perhaps no stat-line was more impressive than Samuel Elgert’s triple-double. The third-year setter from Alberta finished the night with 28 assists, 13 kills and 12 digs in what is the first triple-double performance that Hennelly can recall in his 16 years with the program. Anton Napolitano added a game-high 19 kills with Corbin Ockerman and Sam Flowerday both had 12.
Noah Carlson finished on 18 of his 40 attacked to lead the Heat. Cameron Vanderveen had 14 kills and three aces while Maxwell Heppell ended with 11 kills.
In recording their first win of the season, the WolfPack managed to claw their way back into a game that look all but assured to be a Heat victory.
After trailing two sets to none, the ‘Pack fought back with two set victories of their own before an incredibly dramatic fifth and final set.
The WolfPack led 14-13 but were unable to close the game off before putting together a defensive run for the ages. The teams traded points all the way to 22-22, with the ‘Pack fighting off eight consecutive match points before a massive kill from Napolitano and a slip from the Heat gave the WolfPack the victory.
“It goes back to the third set, Kobby Nyarko came in and sparked some intensity and same thing with Sam Flowerday,” said Hennelly. You need guys to be able to compete, you need guys that can come in and put some minutes in. Kobby’s not going to show up on the scoresheet a tonne, but he really came in and had a serving run that separated it for us and gave us a chance to win that set.”
Both of these teams will have next weekend off. The ‘Pack will next be in action on November 26-27 when they face the Fraser Valley Cascades in Abbotsford. The Heat will have to wait until December 3 for their next Canada West game when they welcome the UBC Thunderbirds to Kelowna.