By Larry Read

TRU Sports Information Officer

KAMLOOPS, BC:  The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack have found their stride at the right time. The number 10 ranked team in the USPORTS top 10 have extended their winning streak to six.

The Pack swept the visiting University of Calgary Dinos 3-1 on Saturday night (Jan 27).  The scores were 25-23, 20-25,25-17,25-13.

At 9-11, the WolfPack enter their bye week still in position for a post season berth. The Dinos fall to 10-8

Offensively, TRU was led again by Tim Dobbert with 21 kills. Josh Mullaney added 14.   Regan Fathers had the most kills for Calgary in this match with nine.

 SYNOPSIS

The WolfPack got off to fast start and went into the technical time out leading 16-14.  The Dinos weren't giving up and battled back but couldn't overtake TRU who won the opening set 25-23. Led by Tim Dobbert (4^th year, outside hitter, Aichelberg, Germany) who had 6 kills in 18 swings.

Calgary came back and took the second set by five (25-20).   Regan Fathers (4^th year, outside hitter, Adelaide, AUS) had three kills and a block in that set.

The match see sawed again in favor of the WolfPack in the third.  Dobbert had five kills in nine attempts while Joshua Mullaney (3^rd year, outside hitter, Calgary, AB) added four kills in five swings in a 25-17 win.

In the fourth set, the score see sawed for the most part until TRU pulled out the set and match.  Dobbert had six kills in that stanza with Mullaney contributing five.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS: 

click here

KEY STATS:

Scores by sets:

TRU:                    25    20    25    25     --3     

Calgary:              23    25    17    23       -1

Calgary:

Regan Fathers: 9 kills in 26 chances, 4 digs,  2 assists, 1 solo block, 1 block assist

Tim Taylor: 6 kills in 18 swings, 3 digs

Alex Bader: 6 kills in 23 opportunities, 7 digs, 3 block assists

Blain Cranston: 19 assists, five digs, 2 solo blocks, 1 block assist

TRU

Tim Dobbert: 21 kills in 46 chances, 7 digs, 4 block assists

Josh Mullaney: 14 kills in 25 opportunities, 4 digs, 3 block ass9sts

Cole Keddie:  6 kills in 17 swings, 7 digs, 1 solo block, 1 block assist

Anton Napolitano: 44 assists, 1 service ace, 2 digs

Landon Currie: 11 digs

RECORDS:

TRU: 9-11     CALGARY:  10-8

QUOTES:

TRU head coach Pat Hennelly:

On the winning streak: "This was huge. We haven't put together a streak like this in a long time. That is the biggest sweep I can remember in a while. We kept pace. Now we have a bye week. We can truly relax and take a mental and physical break."

On what went well in this match:  " We stayed in it. They made some comebacks. We weren't playing great today. Tim Dobbert was up and down. . That is very uncharacteristic for him. He had a serving run, then he missed some serves. He had big hits followed by some errors. We had to struggle through that. Just the calmness and composure knowing we would be fine. "

TRU middle Sam Taylor Parks (Kelowna, BC):

 On whats going well:  " We aren't panicking. We fall back on our basics of serving and blocking. That is what we have been working on. We stay together and push through."

Are teams taking your for granted?" Definitely. Teams thought we would be an easy game for them. I think we have blown some people away and surprised ourselves as well. We have pushed forward and nobody is going to stop us."

Coaches Video Post Game Interview:     click here

Dinos coach Rod Durrant (12th season):

Coaches Video Post Game Interview:   click here

UP NEXT:

Next weekend (Feb 2-3), the WolfPack have a bye and head to Hawaii to play three exhibition matches including one against the NCAA Division I University of Hawaii Rainbows.The Dinos entertain the Trinity Western University Spartans at the Jack Simpson Gym.

The next TRU  regular season action is Thursday, February 6, 2018 when they travel to Kelowna to meet up with the University of British Columbia Okanagan Heat. The two teams return to the Tournament Capital Centre for the 'back half' of the series on Saturday, February 10^th.

All of the above matches will be shown on a pay-per-view basis on www.CanadaWesttv.com.

OF NOTE:    This match was the WolfPacks "Bell Let's Talk" about mental health awareness night. It included athletes and fans wearing special blue toques, writing messages in thought bubbles and posting on social media.

 The "TRU Bookstore/McDonalds Leader of the Pack Player of the Match" was:  Charlie Bringloe (3^rd year, outside hitter, Waterloo, ON).  He was recognized for coming off the bench and making some key spin serves during the contest.