Box Score KAMLOOPS, B.C. - The Thompson Rivers Wolfpack were able to fight off eight match-points from the UBC Okanagan Heat men's volleyball team en route to a five-set upset Saturday at the Tournament Capital Centre.
After UBCO took the first two sets of the match by identical scores of 25-19, Thompson Rivers claimed the next two sets 25-18 and 28-26. to force a fifth and final set. With the Heat's perfect record on the line, they managed eight match points in the final frame, but a resilient Wolfpack team withstood each time, eventually converting on the only match point they had.
TRU took the decisive fifth set 24-22.
In UBCO's first loss of the year, Noah Carlson, of Sylvan Lake, Alta., had a team-best 18 kills, his highest mark of the season. Abbotsford's Cameron Vanderveen chipped in with 13 kills and the always steady Maxwell Heppell, from Langley, B.C., helped out with 11 for the visiting side.
A pair of Aussie stole the show in TRU's comeback as Anton Napolitano, of Melbourne, Australia, had game-highs in kills, with 19, and assists with 31. Sam Flowerday, residing from Proserpine, Australia, had 5 of his 13 kills in the game's third set which crucially turned the tides for Thompson Rivers
UBCO setter Zach Van Geel, a first-year from Calgary, recorded 21 assists and five digs in the loss.
The win also has important implications on the President's Cup between the two rival schools. With the win on Saturday, TRU extends the men's score to 1-3-1, with a handful of games remaining.
The loss ends the Heat's three-game win streak to open the year, tying a program record for best start to a season, set in 2011-12. UBCO now stands at 3-1 for their campaign.
The win is TRU's first of the 2021-22 season, pulling them to 1-3.
The Heat will now have two weeks off before returning to action on December 3rd and 4th for matchups against the UBC Thunderbirds.
