Box Score KELOWNA, B.C. – Propelled by a powerful performance by Max Heppell, the UBCO Heat men's volleyball team battled the Thompson Rivers WolfPack to a five-set victory in the Furnace, securing the President's Cup for the Heat men's teams for the first time in 25 years.
Following in the footsteps of the Heat's women's teams, who captured their President's Cup trophy back in November, UBCO secured their first trophy in the men's competition since 1996-97 thanks to a gutsy performance from men's volleyball who stormed back from a two sets to one deficit to pick up the win 25-21, 20-25, 20-25, 25-22, 15-7. The victory also gives UBCO a sweep of the two trophies for the first time in 25 years.
"Given the President's Cup Athletics Challenge was issued in the spirit of friendly athletic competition while encouraging excellence in performance, sportsmanship and friendship among the students, faculty and staff of the two institutions, it's an honour to play our part in securing the Cup for our department this season," commented Heat men's volleyball head coach Brad Hudson following the victory. "The athletic departments on both campuses have worked tirelessly to keep our student-athletes safe and competing through these most trying of times. Coach Hennelly has done an excellent job leading his program this season and it was a privilege to share the competitive stage with the WolfPack."
The comeback mirrored the Heat's comeback in the overall competition as UBCO trailed TRU 1-4-1 before the Heat reeled off three straight victories, one from men's basketball and two from men's volleyball, to ultimately win the annual competition thanks to the total points tiebreaker. In total, nine games were played against the the Heat's Interior rivals from Kamloops in the sports of soccer, basketball and volleyball.
"Coach Zanatta and Coach Pottinger have worked exceptionally hard to make the most of their seasons and we're happy to share this win with them and their student-athletes as well," added Hudson. "As always, I'm proud of the young people involved in our program and our staff for making the most of this opportunity. The best is yet to come."
With the 2021-22 edition of the President's Cup coming down to the final game and each school having the opportunity to claim the Cup, the first set was hotly contested. The two teams traded points back-and-forth up until just before the media timeout when the Heat would break the tie with a four-point run, putting the score at 16-12 for the home squad. UBCO would maintain the lead through the rest of the set, only allowing TRU to come no closer than two points of the Heat score. The set would conclude with two errors from the visiting squad, giving the set to the Heat, 25-21.
UBCO came into the second set with the lead, but the WolfPack quickly caught up, tying it up at 9-9 and once again locking the two teams in a tie-breaker battle. The two teams would stay within two points of each other for the majority of the set, trading leads until the 'Pack went on a three-point run to seal their second set victory, 25-20.
The third set would be a similar start to the first and second, with the teams fighting to break the tie, but this time, the 'Pack would pull away after the media timeout. The visiting squad would then put as much as five-points between them and the Heat, leading through the remainder of the set and finishing it off with a score of 25-20.
Much like the previous sets, the fourth set started off with the two teams trading small leads, with the 'Pack leading 16-15 going into the media timeout. With the victory of both the game and the President's Cup on the line, the Heat were able to make a small comeback, bringing the score from 18-15 for TRU to a 20-19 score for the Heat thanks to a pair of kills from Heppell and a block by Teo Ardanaz (Tsawwassen, B.C.) and Heppell. The Heat would go on to secure the set in their favour, 25-22 off a kill from Abbotsford, B.C., product, Cam Vanderveen, forcing the 'Pack into a fifth set to determine both the winner of the game and the Cup.
The Heat took the first point of the fifth set and ran with it, only allowing TRU to tie the game up twice at (2-2) and (3-3). Controlling the set all the way through, a kill by Heppell followed by a block from Zach Van Geel (Calgary) would put the Heat within one point of victory. Ultimately, the game concluded with a TRU service error as the Heat took the fifth set 15-7.
UBCO was led by Heppell who finished the night with 21 points including 16 kills, four aces, three digs, and two blocks. Noah Carlson's 16-point game would further propel the Heat to victory as he contributed 14 kills, six digs, and four blocks.
For the WolfPack, Sam Flowerday of Proserpine, Australia and Anton Napolitano of Melbourne, Australia, would both finish with 15 points each, with Flowerday totalling 14 kills and two digs while Napolitano added 11 kills, four blocks, and 10 digs.
The Heat now increase their record to 6-4 on the season, moving into sole possession of second place in the Canada West West division. As for the 'Pack, they fall to 1-7 on the year.
UBCO will be back in action on February 18th when they head down to Vancouver to face off against their sister-school, the UBC Thunderbirds at 7:30 p.m. All action can be watched live on CandaWest.tv presented by Co-op.
2021-22 PRESIDENT'S CUP REWIND:
TRU was the first on the board in this season's competition, winning a soccer match 2-1, followed by a 1-1 draw the following day. TRU then went up 2-0-1 after a 77-72 victory over the UBCO men's basketball team. In November, the volleyball teams settled for a weekend split with the Heat sweeping the 'Pack in three sets, followed by a five-set victory for TRU. The following weekend, the basketball teams met once again with TRU taking the first victory 82-72 to put them up 4-1-1. The Heat men's basketball team responded the following night with their first win of the season, 81-73, to give the Heat the shot they needed at the tiebreaker.
With the weekend sweep, the Heat men's volleyball team cinched the men's President's Cup for the first time since the 1996/97 season. Coming into the weekend affair, the Heat had to win both games in order to have a chance at winning the cup through the tiebreaker as the 'Pack was leading with a 4-2-1 standing. The tiebreaker is decided by the total number of points scored by each team in each match up between the rivals. Ultimately, after the weekend sweep, the Heat won the tiebreaker 629-610.
