WolfPack volleyball drop opener in Hawaii

Feb 2, 2018 | 5:16 AM

HONOLULU, HAWAII-The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack knew they were in for a tough test when they met the professional Academy United in day one of the Waikiki Beachcomber by Outrigger Classic.

The WolfPack fell in straight sets to the club made up entirely of former NCAA Div I players.  The scores at the Sam Sheriff Centre were 25-19,25-21,25-16.

The WolfPack had a 58 per cent attack in the first set. It fell to 40 and 41 per cent respectively as the match went on.  Academy United had a 75 per cent team attack in that opening set and wound up with a 62 per cent attack for the match compared to TRU’s 46 per cent.

Thompson Rivers was led by Joshua Mullaney (3rd year, outside hitter, Calgary, AB).  He had 8 kills on 16 chances.  Tim Dobbert (4th year, outside hitter, Aichelberg, Germany) was seven for 23.    Anton Napolitano (2nd year, setter, Victoria, AUS) had 22 assists.  

Sam Taylor Parks (3rd year, middle, Kelowna, BC) had a kill in four swings with three service aces.   Landon Currie (1st year, libero, Vernon, BC) had six digs. Jordan Foot (5th year, middle, Prince George, BC) added four kills and two blocks.

“Played a bit nervous to start,” said WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly. ” We struggled with service reception at times. We had some good rallies and played well considering we arrived late last night.”

Academy United was paced by Peter Edwards and Nemanja Korav with nine kills each.  Tony Ciarelli had six digs while Evan Barry had 25 assists and nine digs.

The match was tied six times in the second set and the lead changed three times in both the second and third sets.

The tournament continues Friday (Feb 2) with TRU meeting up with Lees-McCrae College out of North Carolina. The Bobcats are a NCAA Division III team.

TRU returns to league play on Thursday, February 8 th when they visit the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat in Kelowna.