KAMLOOPS – All three sets were close but all three went the way of the home team as the Thompson Rivers WolfPack men’s volleyball team fell 3-0 (25-20, 25-20, 27-23) to the Mount Royal Cougars in Calgary.
Rylan Ibbetson powered the ‘Pack offence with 12 kills on his 20 attacks. Corbin Ockerman had four kills and a pair of aces from the middle position while Sam Elgert racked up 26 assists in the game.
Chris Byam and Jacob Van Geel both hit double-digit kills for MRU with 12 and 10 kills respectively and Jonatan Da Silva had 39 assists in the game.
The WolfPack kept things close throughout the first set, with a big showing from Flowerday who led the team with five kills. After the Cougars took a lead in the middle of the set, TRU was able to bring it back within two at 20-18 but that was as close as they would come with a Byam ace ending the set at 25-20.
The story was much the same in the second set. MRU at one point held a 20-15 advantage before kills from Ibbetson and Elgert brought the score back to 21-19. But once again the Cougars regained their footing and took the second by a score of 25-20.
TRU had their best set in the third and final frame. A Thundersky Walkingbear kill gave TRU a 24-23 lead and a chance at set point, but the Cougars scored four of the final five points in the frame to take the set 27-25 and cement their 3-0 victory.
Both TRU and MRU are back in Kenyon tomorrow night for the late game, with a 6 p.m. PT service. That game can be watched live on Canada West TV