Former WolfPack men's volleyball player Kevin Tillie won gold with Team France at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Image Credit: Thompson Rivers University/Calkins
August 09, 2021 - 11:24 AM
A former Thompson Rivers University volleyball player won gold this past weekend in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Former WolfPack men's volleyball player Kevin Tillie won gold with Team France at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, according to a press release issued by Cameron Doherty, marketing and communications manager with the TRU WolfPack.
Tillie and France captured gold in a marathon five-set match that ended three sets to two over the team from the Russian Olympic committee. The games wrapped up yesterday, Aug. 8.
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Playing with the WolfPack for two seasons from 2009-2011, the outside hitter was named Canada West and CIS Rookie of the Year in 2009-10. The product of Cagnes-sur-Mer followed up with a 2010-11 campaign that saw him earn a spot as a Canada West First Team All-Star and CIS Second Team All-Canadian, according to the TRU Wolfpack release.
In his two seasons in Kamloops, Tillie helped the team to back-to-back playoff appearances including a fourth-place finish at the National Championships in 2009-10.
At the Olympics, Tillie was used primarily as a serving specialist, committing only two errors on his 19 serves prior to the gold medal game.
Tilie, who is the son of the French National Team head coach Laurent Tillie, helped France pull off the upset of the tournament.
After finishing fourth in pool 'B' with a 2-3 record, France knocked off a Poland team that was 4-1 and the winners of pool 'A' in the quarter-finals. France then strolled past Argentina in the semifinals before their victory over the team from Russia, according to the press release.
Gord Perrin, another former Wolfpack player, was also part of the Olympics. The captain of the Canadian men's volleyball team was one of the standouts on a MapleVolleys squad that went 2-3 before bowing out in the quarter-final round. Perrin led the way with 66 points for Canada, tied for 17th in the tournament, and was one of the most efficient finishers at the Olympics.
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