KAMLOOPS, BC: The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack took advantage of a loud, boisterous crowd in a small venue and got back into the winning frame of mind in Canada West men's volleyball play on Friday (Feb 8).
Playing in the old TRU gym, the Pack downed the University of Saskatchewan Huskies 3-1 on "Retro" night. The scores were 25-19,25-23,18-25,25-16.
"It was a tough night for us. We struggled from the service line and struggled passing," said Huskies head coach
Nathan Bennett. "We started to solidify some things as it went on. We had a real good weekend a couple of weeks ago against the U of A, and that is the team I am expecting to see out here tomorrow."
TRU moves to 10-9 on the season tied with Calgary for fifth place in the league with three matches to go. Saskatchewan falls to seventh with a 9-10 record.
Tim Dobbert led TRU offensively again with 19 kills. He now has 327 kills which is the most in Canada West.
Saskatchewan's offence was led by Dylan Mortenson with 11 kills in 28 opportunities while
CJ Gavlas had 21 assists and nine digs.
The match marked the return of Huskies head coach
Nathan Bennett to Kamloops for the first time since he left TRU to take the position in Saskatchewan.
Missed serves in the smaller confines of the TRU gym were a big factor. Thompson Rivers missed the ball 33 times while Saskatchewan gave away 22 points from bad serves. The Pack outdug the Huskies 32-29 in the contest.
The WolfPack and Huskies are playing these two matches, which are the final ones at home for Thompson Rivers at the old TRU Gym.
The venue also holds special significance for Bennett. During his time with the WolfPack volleyball programs, he ran the McDonalds/TRU Sports Camps out of the TRU gym.
"I saw a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time. It was nice to be back in this gym. My old office was right there," said Bennett. " It was a good homecoming but the TRU WolfPack weren't very welcoming."
The WolfPack and Huskies will wrap up the weekend affair on Saturday (Feb 9) at the TRU gym with an 8:45 pm start time.
