KAMLOOPS – They put together some great comeback efforts but victory eluded the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s volleyball team in a 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 25-20) loss to the UBC Thunderbirds in Vancouver.
“We had a solid road effort, played a bit up-and-down but credit to UBC, they made some great defensive stops,” said WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly.
Sam Flowerday recorded 10 kills, eight digs and two aces for the WolfPack while Rylan Ibbetson led TRU in kills with 11. Corbin Ockerman had seven kills on his 12 swings and Sam Elgert added 32 assists and a trio of block assists.
Reeve Gingera led UBC offensively with 16 kills and three aces along with six digs. Gavin Moes was very efficient with 14 kills and nine digs while hitting .414. James Vincett was big in the middle with a match-high five blocks to go with seven kills.
After UBC took the first set, the WolfPack came out stronger in the second set, taking an 8-5 lead early on to force a UBC timeout. TRU continued to hold a slim lead for much of the set, but the T-Birds kept fighting and an ace from Conaire Taub knotted the score at 19.
The play continued back and forth from there, but a big block by Ockerman capped off a late TRU flurry that finished the set 25-22 in their favour.
UBC wrested the momentum back in the third with a 6-0 run powered by a pair of emphatic Gingera kills to make it 15-9. A big kill by Vincett followed by a block by him and Moes put the Thunderbirds up 19-13 and they looked to be in the clear.
However, the WolfPack fought back, and made a massive late push that cut the lead to just a single point at 22-21 . Despite the rally, UBC managed to close out the set with Moes scoring the final point to make it 25-23.
The fourth set was very similar, as the T-Birds were dominant early on. An ace by Vincett and a big block by Robinson-Dunning put the home side up 15-6 and in firm control of the set. But the WolfPack again showed their resolve, putting together a 12-4 run highlights by a long serving run from Elgert to threaten the Thunderbirds once again.
This time though, UBC closed out the set a little earlier. A kill by Vincett and then a block from Mason Greves put the T-Birds up 21-18 and they finished off the match by taking the fourth set 25-20.
“We had some solid comebacks in sets 2, 3 and 4 but gave some early leads away making mistakes,” said Hennelly. “We need to be more stable throughout the match and not have to fight back from being down.”
UBC will face off against TRU once again in a rematch Saturday night. The first serve is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. (PT) at War Memorial Gym.