VANCOUVER - Despite losing team kills leader Brad Gunter to injury early in the second set, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack battled back to earn a 3-1 win (19-25, 27-25, 26-24, 25-23) over the UBC Thunderbirds on Saturday at War Memorial Gym.
After the T-Birds won the first set comfortably, things went from bad to worse for the WolfPack as their rookie kills leader Gunter went down with an ankle injury to start the second.
He was unable to return to action, but his team stepped up in a big way in his absence. Casey Knight took over his spot and made an immediate impact with five kills in the second set, including the winner on game point.
The T-Birds were down 24-19 in the second before battling back to tie it at 24 on the strength of some fabulous serving by
Jarrid Ireland, but the WolfPack were energized and the T-Birds deflated when the visitors were able to hold off the comeback and tie the match at one game each.
That momentum paid off for the WolfPack later in the match, as each of the final three sets went down to the wire, and they came up with the clutch plays when needed.
"I thought they played like their season was on the line, and they played phenomenally," said UBC head coach
Richard Schick. "They deserved everything they got. They had guys step up and they just played really well."
Knight was front and centre in crunch time again in the third set once his team battled back from a 22-18 deficit. He served a beautiful ace to tie the game at 24, and after a Jessie Bazergui kill put them up 25-24, Knight came up with another ace for the win.
In the third set it was Jacob Tricarico's turn to play hero. His seventh kill of the night set up the match point opportunity, and he finished it off himself with his third ace of the match.
UBC outhit TRU .222 to .166 in the match in addition to having more blocks, but they were unable to make the big plays late in sets.
"We had ample opportunity to make plays, and it's tough when you don't learn the importance of doing that," said Schick. "We had our opportunities tonight and didn't take advantage of them, and when you don't you end up feeling like this."
A solid night serving the ball may have given the WolfPack the edge they needed to earn those close set wins. They had eight aces and 12 service errors on the night, while the T-Birds had just two aces and 10 errors.
Knight finished with eight kills and six blocks in relief of Gunter. Bazergui and Krzystof Orman each had 10 kills to lead the team.
Robert Bennett led all players with 16 kills for UBC, and
Jarrid Ireland added 13. The team posted some big blocking numbers too, with
Cary Brett's eight assists and one solo block pacing the group, but Schick said the team's lack of offensive production from the middles was a factor in the loss.
The WolfPack improve to 3-11 with the win, and are mathematically still alive for a playoff spot, though they will likely need to win all six remaining games to have a chance.
UBC remains tied for third with Alberta at 8-4 on the year, and will now prepare for a tough test at home next week as 11-1 Manitoba comes to War Memorial Gym.
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