Kamloops – Men’s Volleyball: Another close call for Cascades, WolfPack prevail in fiveThe University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team found itself in yet another epic five-set match on Wednesday in Kamloops, but were unable to get over the hump as the Thompson Rivers WolfPack rallied to win.
The Cascades (0-10) won the first and third sets, and had three match points in the fourth, but the WolfPack (5-7) clawed their way back to win 12-25, 25-21, 21-25, 28-26, 15-11 – thus completing a sweep of the season series.
“I don’t think battling hard has ever been our problem,” said UFV head coach Nathan Bennett, whose team went five sets for the fourth time in Canada West play. “For us it’s always been about finishing. That’s where we’ve struggled mightily and we did again tonight. So far, that’s the story of the season.”
The Cascades couldn’t have asked for a more promising start – they blitzed the WolfPack 25-12 in the first set, hitting .350 compared to TRU’s -.043.
UFV was even more efficient offensively in the second, hitting .375, but the WolfPack woke up in a big way, hitting .417 themselves, highlighted by four Anton Napolitano kills. TRU led 16-10 in the middle stages, but the Cascades got back to within 17-15 thanks to some effective serving and timely kills from Nimo Benne. Samuel Elgert, though, notched three kills down the stretch, including one on set point, as the WolfPack squared the match 25-21.
The Cascades built a 10-6 edge in the third, and while TRU was able to battle back to tie it 12-12, UFV reeled off four straight points with Eduardo Ferreira at the service line. They continued to pull away from there, and a Caleb Kastelein kill ended it, 25-21.
The UFV squad was on the brink of victory in the fourth, up 24-22 after a Benne kill. The WolfPack dug deep, saving a trio of match points on a pair of Napolitano kills and one from Elgert. TRU would go on to extend the match as Thundersky Walkingbear and Napolitano managed back-to-back kills to take it 28-26.
UFV led 7-6 in the fifth, but TRU reeled off six of the next seven points to seize control. Elgert took over during that stretch, accounting for three straight points with a kill followed by back-to-back aces, and the hosts kept the Cascades at bay from there.
Benne had a strong performance for the Cascades, posting 19 kills and hitting .394. Kastelein contributed 10 kills, rookie middle Tyson Ardell tied his career high with nine kills, and setter Jonas Van Huizen had 44 assists and eight digs.
Napolitano (14 kills) and Elgert (13 kills) set the tone for TRU offensively.
The Cascades volleyball teams are back in action at home this weekend, taking on the UBC Thunderbirds on Friday (MVB 6 p.m., WVB 8 p.m.) and Saturday (MVB 4 p.m., WVB 6 p.m.).
