WolfPack can’t overcome slow start in loss to Dinos

KAMLOOPS – The visiting Calgary Dinos got up early and rode that lead to victory in a 3-1 (25-22, 25-14, 23-25, 20-25) game over the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s volleyball team in Kamloops.
 
“We have to address our start, it’s part of mental preparation and understanding where we are at,” said WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly. “It seemed like we were playing catch up all night.”
 
Hitting efficiency was key for Calgary in the game as the visitors compiled a mark  of .518 compared to the WolfPack’s .230.
 
Calgary’s Erik Godwin led both teams with 15 kills on just 28 swings. Jackson Meier had an incredibly efficient night through the middle, hitting .923 per cent with 12 kills on 13 swings. Ethan Czepuryk recorded three assists while Zack Durrant recorded 35 assists.
 
Sam Flowerday and Rylan Ibbetson each had 13 kills for the ‘Pack, while Corbin Ockerman racked up four service aces and Sam Elgert 33 assists.
 
“Sam Flowerday had a great night but there wasn’t a ton of support around him,” said Hennelly. “Give credit to Calgary they did the stuff we talked about, they ran a lot of middles and their middles were super efficient. We just didn’t seem to have an answer, we never really had a moment where we took charge of the game.
 
The Dinos were able to pull out a tight first set. With the score 22-21 in favour of the Dinos, Tyler Funk scored a pair of important kills to take the set 25-22. Meier and Ibbetson each had four kills to lead their respective teams.
 
Set number two was all Calgary, the visitors hit .632 per cent as a team and Godwin racked up six kills as the Dinos rolled to the 11-point victory.
 
TRU played their best volleyball of the night in the third. With the set tied at 21-21 a 3-0 WolfPack run keyed by one kill from Matthew Hamilton and a couple from Ibbetson gave TRU the breathing room they needed to take the 25-23 victory.
 
Any hopes of a WolfPack comeback were ended late in the fourth. A Flowerday ace brought the ‘Pack close at 16-15 in favour of Calgary before a 6-2 Dinos run powered by a block courtesy of Godwin and Czepuryk gave the Dinos a 22-17 edge en route to the victory.
 
TRU (2-3) will hit the road next weekend when they travel to Saskatoon for a pair of games with the Saskatchewan Huskies. Calgary (3-1) will have a bye week.
 
“We’ve been working on it all year but the energy can’t come from the coaching staff, it has to come from the floor and that’s a really big part when talking about being a competitive team and being on the floor all the time,” said Hennelly on what the team will be working on this week. “The guys have to understand that we’re not always the underdogs; we have to have our heads up and show that energy and that’s what we are going to do in practice.”