WolfPack bring university volleyball showcase games to Prince George

KAMLOOPS – For the second time in a month the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men’s volleyball team will be making a trip north to Prince George, however this time there will be game action on the line.

Less than 30 days after hosting the 17th edition of their annual Prince George Summer Camp, the ‘Pack will return to BC’s northern capital for a pair of exhibition games against MacEwan University. Those games are slated to go on Friday, Sept. 22 at the College of New Caledonia Gym and Saturday, Sept. 23 at the UNBC gym with both contests getting underway at 7:00 p.m.

“We think the city has been an important recruiting hub for our team, with notable alumni Graham Allard and Tim Flannigan both playing integral parts of our CIS bronze medal in 2009,” said WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly.

TRU has had a member of the team from Prince George for all 18 years that the program has competed at the Canada West level. Deakon Anderson, a 6-5 middle and graduate of D.P. Todd Secondary, committed to the ‘Pack in May and will keep that streak going strong.

These games mark the fourth time that TRU has played exhibition contests in Prince George, they have previously hosted Sung Kyun Kwan University (South Korea), the University of Alberta and UBC Okanagan. 

Building deep relationships within the PG volleyball community throughout his time as head coach of the ‘Pack, Hennelly points to a couple important figures in making these games happen.

“A key organizer of camps and our trips to Prince George have been Dan Drezet and Kim Forrest, who are also key organizers of the Prince George Youth Volleyball Club.”

Other notable alumni of the ‘Pack from Prince George include Colin Carson, who was named the CIS Student-Athlete Community Service Award winner and a Canada West Second Team All-Star in 2013-14 as well as Jordan Foot.

The games will mark a chance for TRU to both shake off the rust from Summer as well as begin to build towards their 2023-24 regular season. The ‘Pack have qualified for the Canada West postseason 10 times and have qualified for the CIS / U SPORTS National Championship tournament on three occasions.