KAMLOOPS – They didn’t always have their best on the night, but the Thompson Rivers WolfPack fought off three match points and came all the way back for victory in a 3-2 (12-25, 25-21, 21-25, 28-26, 15-11) triumph over the visiting Fraser Valley Cascades.
The match was the fourth in seven days between the two teams and with the result the WolfPack pick up the season sweep of four wins against Fraser Valley.
It wasn’t exactly smooth sailing on the night for the ‘Pack however who got blown out of the water in the first set and trailed 24-22 in what could have been the deciding fourth set before finding another gear late.
“We had to start playing with a little energy and emotion,” said WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly on his team’s turnaround. “We were tired and have been playing this team over-and over-again. UFV was fired up and had to get a win to boost their shot at making the playoffs, so from the end of the third set we just talked about how we can’t continue to play at this speed.”
Anton Napolitano led the ‘Pack with 14 kills on his 26 swings in the game. The fifth year from Melbourne added 21 assists and three aces in the contest. For Napolitano the aces moved the veteran over the 100 mark in his WolfPack career. He now sits on 102 which is good enough for 17th in Canada West history and second in program history.
“I had no idea until Pat told me a couple days ago, but that mark is a credit to the program and a credit to what coach Hennelly has taught me. My serve has come a long way,” said Napolitano. “It’s something I’m proud of and I hope to develop it even more.”
Samuel Elgert did it all for the ‘Pack with 13 kills, 26 assists, six digs and four block assists while Thundersky Walkingbear tallied eight kills and five digs in the winning effort.
Nimo Benne was electric for the Cascades with 19 kills on 33 swings alongside three service aces. Caleb Kastelein added 10 kills with Jonas Van Huizen racking up 44 assists.
The first set was all Cascades. UFV hit .350% as a team to roll to the early 25-12 set victory.
Somehow UFV was even more efficient in the second set but some timely WolfPack kills kept them in the match. Napolitano, Elgert and Michael Svab all had four kills in the frame as the WolfPack jumped out to an early 16-10 lead. The Cascades fought back to make things close but Elgert had a pair of kills down the stretch to help the ‘Pack tie the match.
UFV went on a tear in the third set with Kastelein snagging five kills in the frame as the Cascades hit .542% as a team in the set. The WolfPack did their best to stick around but Fraser Valley pulled away with the 25-21 set victory.
The fourth set was all fight from the ‘Pack. Benne caught fire for the Cascades and poured in eight kills in the set but the WolfPack refused to go away.
A Benne kill gave the Cascades match point at 24-22 but back-to-back kills from Elgert and Napolitano tied the set back up at 24-24.
“I’ve played a couple of games now, so I like to think that when the going gets tough I’m a little more calm out there,” said Napolitano on being a fifth year leader. “I might not always make the right decisions, but I know the team will be looking to someone to lead and I’m more than happy to be that person.”
Tyson Ardell gave the Cascades another crack at the match but again Napolitano answered with a kill. An ace from Sam Flowerday, some timely digs and a kill from Walkingbear as well as yet another kill from Napolitano later and the WolfPack had forced a fifth and final set.
“I thought our defence was really bad early and that’s not who we’ve been,” said Hennelly. “The defence picked up and Thundersky came back in and made some miraculous digs at the end of the fourth set. Credit to Rylan Ibbetson for coming in when we needed him and credit to Thundersky for not playing great at all early but going off the court to recover and coming back strong.”
TRU’s defence came up clutch in the fifth set as the ‘Pack outhit the Cascades .211%-.056% in the frame.
With the teams tied at 7-7 the WolfPack scored eight of the next 12 points to take the set 15-11 and claim the match. Elgert had a block assist, a kill and a pair of service aces down the stretch to help power his team to victory.
“We’ve done this all year, there’s no quit on our roster,” said Hennelly. “We’ve talked about being a team you don’t want to play and I think we accomplished that tonight.”
The WolfPack will remain in Kamloops and get set for a quick turnaround. They will play host the Trinity Western Spartans this Friday and Saturday inside the TCC.