EDMONTON—A visit to Alberta’s capital was not a pleasant experience for the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men’s volleyball team.
The WolfPack dropped both ends of their Canada West weekend series with the host University of Alberta Golden Bears. The Bears, the number two ranked team in the nation, beat the number-eight ranked WolfPack 3-1 on Saturday night (Nov. 5). The scores were 25-20,15-25,19-25,18-25.
TRU is now 1-and-3 on the year while Alberta moves to 2-and-O.
“We played better tonight than we did last night,” said TRU head
coach Pat Hennelly. “ Brad Gunter (first year, outside hitter,
Courtenay) was exceptional tonight. He had 18 kills and a kill efficiency of .351, five block assists and five digs. He was the best outside hitter for us tonight.”
Aleks Saddlemyer (fifth year, outside hitter, Sidney) had seven kills in 12 swings. Colin Carson (third year, setter, Prince George) had 26 assists and nine digs.
On Friday, the WolfPack dropped a 3-0 decision to the hometown Alberta Golden Bear. The scores were 25-18, 25-11, 25-21.
“We played very nervous and inconsistent volleyball,” said Hennelly. “We never got into any kind of rhythm from the service line, offensively or defensively.”
The Golden Bears were led by Olmstead with 11 kills in 20 chances.
TRU’s top offensive weapon was Gunter who had nine kills in 24 opportunities.
The WolfPack spend this weekend (Nov. 11-12) on the road as they visit the Cougars in Regina. Next home match is Friday Nov. 18 at the Tournament Capital Centre in Kamloops when they host the University of Manitoba Bisons.