KAMLOOPS – The 2011-12 Canada West season is over for the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men’s volleyball team. The WolfPack’s campaign came to an end at the University of British Columbia Okanagan in Kelowna on Saturday night (Feb. 11).
The Pack were beaten 3-0 by the Heat. The scores were 25-16, 25-12, 25-21. The WolfPack finish in the bottom of the Canada West with a 3-17 record. UBCO winds up at 8-12.
“We played our best volleyball in the third set,” said WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly. “We came up with some great blocks and emotion. We didn’t play so well in the first two sets while UBCO was on top of their game. They played exceptional defence and deserved the win.”
On Friday, the Heat knocked off the 'Pack 3-0, winning 16-25, 23-25, 25-18.“We had some momentum in the second set but passing down the stretch was a problem,” Hennelly explained afterwards. “UBCO played well and used the momentum for their crowd.”
Brad Gunter (1st year, outside hitter, Courtenay, BC) had six kills in 15 chances for TRU.
“It has been a tough year and we certainly had higher expectations of making the playoffs," Hennelly said. "We have had a lot of close losses with five matches going to the fifth set.
"We have played better in the second half, starting with our trip to California. but have not been able to get more wins. We had a very close loss to Brandon the first night with a 13-11 in the fifth set only to lose on errors. I hope these hard losses will help with motivation for the guys in the off season.”
Hennelly has 12 players eligible to return in 2012-13. He looks at his roster and singles out a few players for their progress, including Gunter. "Brad had a great year for a rookie and was our top offensive guy," the coach said.
The WolfPack have seven players among the leaders in Canada West individual statistics, where Gunter is 12th in kills (3.21 per game) and 13th in points (3.63 per game).