The University of the Fraser Valley men's volleyball team dropped a three-set decision to the Thompson Rivers WolfPack in their home opener on Friday evening at the UFV Athletic Centre.
The Cascades were in the mix in all three sets, but the WolfPack were able to execute late and take the match by scores of 25-22, 28-26 and 25-21. TRU improved to 2-7, while dropping UFV to 0-7.
The two teams renew hostilities on Saturday (5 p.m.) and Sunday (3 p.m.) at the UFV Athletic Centre.Â
"I think there were some nerves, definitely, and we haven't played in 63 days," Cascades head coach
Nathan Bennett analyzed afterward. "We can play (intrasquad) against each other all the time, but it's not the same if you don't have an opponent and get some rhythm.Â
"I'm glad we have these games in a row to hopefully get some rhythm, and today was hopefully a step in the right direction. We could see we weren't in rhythm – we were disjoined, weren't executing. And they were playing great. I give TRU so much credit. Defensively they were on every single ball, sending it back over, wearing us down. They deserved to win tonight."
The Cascades rode the energy of the home crowd early, going up 4-1 with resounding kills from
Nimo Benne,
Ryan Adams and
Tyson Ardell among the highlights. The WolfPack found their footing thanks to back-to-back kills from Thundersky Walkingbear, and they opened a four-point lead (19-15) after Samuel Elgert followed a kill by stepping to the service line for an ace. UFV was within 21-19 after a
Noah Bouius kill, but TRU pulled away to take it 25-22.
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The hosts took control in the middle stages of the second set, going up 13-9 after a Bouius ace. The Cascades continued to cook at the service line, as back-to-back aces from
Jonas Van Huizen made it 20-14. TRU fought back to draw even at 23-23, though, and staved off three set points before taking it 28-26. Rookie Max Turgeon closed it out with back-to-back aces of his own.
That took the wind out of the Cascades' sails momentarily as they fell behind 10-7 in the third, but they rallied to go up 14-11 with
Jonas Van Huizen hammering some tough serves and
Caleb Kastelein finding success on the left side. But the WolfPack strung together six straight points – four of which were Cascade attacking errors – to go up 17-14, with Turgeon once again at the service line. UFV would battle back to equalize at 18-18 on a Benne ace, but TRU was once again the sharper team in the late stages, and Anton Napolitano closed out the match with a kill.
"We can't be scared of the moment, and we can't let the moment get too big," Bennett said, reflecting on his team's stumble late in the second set. "When you have a chance to win, you have to be calm and be ready to execute in those moments. We weren't. We felt frantic when we had a chance to close out sets. And when you're frantic, you don't execute."
Benne's 10 kills were a team high for UFV, and Van Huizen racked up 25 assists and three service aces. Middles Bouius and Ardell had five kills apiece, and libero
Reece Wilson contributed 12 digs.Â
Sam Flowerday's 10 kills led the WolfPack, and Napolitano posted 17 assists and 11 digs.Â
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