Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Marty Hastings

CANADA WEST

‘For me, it’s everything’: WolfPack men’s volleyball coach Hennelly pushes for program prestige

Oct 23, 2025 | 5:10 PM

KAMLOOPS — TRU WolfPack men’s volleyball head coach Pat Hennelly his pushing for a return to prominence.

“The message last spring was, ‘If you don’t come in shape and be ready to work extremely hard this year, then you don’t get to be part of this,’” Hennelly said. “Unfortunately, we had to dismiss a player due to lack of fitness. And, yeah, I want to be back in the shine. I want to be back where this program was before. For me, it’s everything.”

Hennelly has been the team’s head coach since it joined U Sports in 2005-2006 (notwithstanding a sabbatical year in 2016-2017) and is among the WolfPack’s most successful bench bosses, with 10 post-season appearances, three Canada West bronze medals and one national bronze medal on his resumé.

But the WolfPack have not reached the playoffs since 2022 and not since 2019 in a season in which the playoff format was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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One WolfPack rebuilding cycle was stunted in 2020 by the surprise exodus of three players and the team has not posted a winning record since 2014-2015 (13-11).

Brighter days may be ahead, with the emergence of a core of second-year players.

“Alex Howard, Parker Bailey and Brandon Johnson are all going to be big players in this league, but it’s their first real taste of experience,” Hennelly said.

“For a lot of the guys, like Rylan Ibbetson and Mason Sodaro, this is their senior year and they have not been to playoffs. We’ve dropped the ball the last two years, where we had moments and we fell short.”

Outside hitter Sam Flowerday, one of the most prolific players in program history, accounted for more than 27 per cent of the team’s points last season.

He graduated after the 2024-2025 campaign, leaving a cavernous void – and opportunity.

“I think it leaves room for guys to step up in multiple positions, multiple roles,” said Walker Sodaro, a third-year setter from Kelowna. “We have a huge, young core right now. I’m looking forward to it. I think the other guys, the other hitters, are obviously all looking forward to it, as well, like it’s their time to make a change. It’s their time to step up. I think that adds a competitive nature for the whole team.”

Fifth-year outside hitter Ibbetson and third-year outside hitter Aiden Goetz were injured and not available to play last weekend in Calgary, where the WolfPack opened their season with a pair of matches against the Mount Royal Cougars, both losses.

“We had up to five second-year guys on the court,” Hennelly said. “We had moments of greatness and moments of panic. We’ve gone over video. Hopefully, you get that experience and the messages. The message is it’s not experience if you don’t learn from it, so I’m hoping we can settle down at crucial times in the matches.”

The WolfPack are scheduled to play the Grant MacEwan Griffins twice this weekend in Edmonton.

Mount Royal is 10th, TRU is 11th and Grant MacEwan is 13th among 13 teams ranked in the Canada West pre-season coaches’ poll.

“Our team really couldn’t care less where we’re ranked,” Howard said. “We’re always going to be somewhere near the bottom. They’re probably going to put us there. And that’s just the expectation they have. And that’s nowhere near where we see ourselves in the league.”

Three of the league’s 13 teams will not qualify for the post-season.

Whether the poll is accurate remains to be seen, but TRU is aware of the importance of the weekend tilts in Edmonton after two losses in Calgary.

“These games are huge,” Walker Sodaro said. “Rough first weekend. Fresh start. Get these two wins and move forward into the rest of the year. Obviously, the end goal is playoffs. I feel like in this league anybody can beat anybody. And once you make playoffs, you can make a run. Anything can happen.”