Thunderbirds outlast WolfPack in men's volleyball battle | iNFOnews | Thompson-Okanagan's News Source
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Thunderbirds outlast WolfPack in men's volleyball battle

Image Credit: Contributed/WolfPack Athletics

KAMLOOPS - In what was likely one of the most entertaining and exciting Canada West men’s volleyball matches witnessed in this city in recent years, the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack dropped a hard fought 3-2 decision to the visiting University of British Columbia Thunderbirds.

The scores Saturday (Nov 19) night on the Warner Rentals court at the Tournament Capital Centre were 29-27,22-25,20-25,25-18,17-15.

SYNOPSIS

Both coaches called the match “character building”. The match could have gone either way.  TRU came back from a 1-0 deficit to take the next two sets. Two of the sets including the fifth went into extra points. UBC was led by Irvan Brar (4th year, outside hitter, Surrey, BC) with 17 kills in 40 chances and nine digs.  TRU’s top offensive weapon was Daniel Eikland Rod (5th year, outside hitter, Oz, Norway) with 19 kills in 41 swings with seven digs, one assist and one block assist.

KEY STATS:

TRU
Daniel Eikeland Rod: 19 kills in 41 opportunities, 7 digs, 1 block assist, 1 assist
Randy Grundman: 15 kills in 49 chances, 8 digs, 2 block assists.
Tim Edge: 15 kills in 31 swings, 11 digs, 2 assists, 1 block assist
Cole Keddie: 10 digs, 3 assists.

UBC
Irvan Brar: 17 kills in 41 opportunities, 9 digs,1 assist, 1 service ace
Cam Fennema: 15 kills in 38 chances, 3 assists, 6 digs, 1 block assist
Mat Guidi: 12 kills in 38 chances, 6 digs, 1 service ace, 1 solo block and 2 block assists
Byron Keturakis: 54 assists, 10 digs, 1 solo block, 4 block assists

RECORDS:

UBC 3-2                  

TRU 1-6

QUOTES:

”It was a tough match. It was back and forth. We talked before it about controlling the ‘air of the game’.  Finding more energy on your side than their side. I thought both sides did a good job of that. When one was getting momentum, the other had a concerted effort to get it back.  This was a fun game. It felt like a playoff game in November. For our young guys who haven’t experienced a game like this, we have to understand we can play good volleyball. UBC played very good volleyball, “ TRU Interim head coach Mike Hawkins says.

UP NEXT:

Next weekend (Nov 25-26), the WolfPack will be visiting the MacEwan University Griffins in Edmonton, Alberta. UBC will be involved in a home and home series with the Trinity Western Spartans which begins Friday night at UBC.

News from © iNFOnews, 2016
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