KAMLOOPS – They rallied to take to the third set, but the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s volleyball team couldn’t find a path to victory in a 3-1 (25-13, 25-17, 23-25, 25-21) loss to the No. 4 ranked Trinity Western Spartans.
The WolfPack put up five blocks to the Spartans’ four in the game but an efficient TWU attack that hit .352 per cent powered the hosts to victory.
Sam Flowerday racked up a team-high 12 kills and rookie Gavin Margerison was a bright spot for the ‘Pack as the product of Kelowna recorded a career-high seven kills on his ten attacks. Corbin Ockerman added seven kills, eight digs and an ace for TRU. Ethan Olfert tallied 27 assists for the ‘Pack.
Brodie Hofer paced Trinity with 17 kills. Jesse Elser and Henry Rempel added 15 apiece with Elser also being responsible for seven service aces.
After the Spartans rolled to victory in the first two sets, TRU responded in the third.
A 7-2 WolfPack run in the middle of the set capped off with a big block from Sam Flowerday gave TRU a 17-13 advantage. Kills from Riley Brinnen and Ockerman set the WolfPack up for victory with a 23-20 lead before a strong serve from Mason Sodaro resulted in a Hofer attack error that sent TRU to the 25-23 victory.
Carrying that momentum over the fourth set, TRU earned the first three points of the frame. TWU answered with a massive six-point run of their own in the middle of the set capped off by a Mathias Elser ace that gave the hosts a 16-11 edge. Trinity ran that lead all the way to 23-16 before the ‘Pack rallied late. Kills from Margerison, Ockerman and Flowerday combined with some TWU hitting errors brought the score to 24-21. The ‘Pack were unable to force a fifth set however, with a Rempel kill ending the match.
The WolfPack (8-13) and Spartans (16-5) will be back at it tomorrow in Langley in a match scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m.
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