(image credit - TRU WolfPack/ Andrew Snucins)
PLAYOFF VOLLEYBALL AHEAD

TRU Women’s Volleyball playoffs bound; Men complete courageous season

Feb 18, 2024 | 7:20 AM

KAMLOOPS — It was a night of mixed emotions inside the Tournament Capital Centre on Saturday (Feb 17), with the Men’s and Women’s Volleyball teams both starting the day with outside shots at the Canada West playoffs.

For the women, they need a win over the Mount Royal Cougars and need some help from the 1-22 Regina Cougars.

The ‘Pack did their part with a four sets victory (25-16, 23-25, 25-23, 27-25), lead by Brooklyn Olfert’s 14 kills and Libby Meldrum’s 31 assists.

Then in a shocking upset, one-win Regina completed a five set victory over Winnipeg to catapult Kamloops into the playoffs.

The WolfPack will now get set for their first playoff action since the 2019-20 season as they will head to Vancouver to take on the UBC Thunderbirds in a quarter-final best-of-three series next weekend.

For the men, they need some help that never arrived. Just before taking the court, the Manitoba Bison won to clinch the final spot in Canada West, leaving the Pack to play for Pride in what will go down as one of the most courageous and determined season’s in TRU history.

With playoffs out of the picture, eyes turned to outside hitter Sam Flowerday who was chasing down WolfPack and Canada West volleyball history. Earning 20 kills in the match Flowerday became the first WolfPack player to ever surpass 400 kills in a season, besting the great Brad Gunter. Also with his 411 kill, the Aussie completed the fourth best season in Canada West history.

Despite the historic night, TRU drop the contest in four sets to MRU.