MVB OFF TO GRANDE PRAIRIE September 30, 2009
Posted by lread in Men's Volleyball.trackback
WolfPack Rookie Matt Krueger
There is nothing like a long bus trip for teammates to bond. That is one of the goals this week as the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men’s volleyball team hits the road. The WolfPack will be travelling to Grande Prairie Alberta to meet up with the University of Calgary Dinos.
For WolfPack head coach Pat Hennelly, it is the first time he has travelled to Northern Alberta to play volleyball. “I hear it is a hotbed,” says Hennelly. “ They have a very competitive senior boys team there this year with a number of prospects. This is a great chance to sell CIS, Canada West and our sport.”
Hennelly’s WolfPack, which is in the midst of a major restructuring, is coming off two exhibition losses to UBC last weekend. With such a young squad, it might be good to do a little bonding.
“For me, preseason is about testing yourself,” says Hennelly. “This past week, we went to Vernon and played UBC, got on the bus and came home at 1 am. Eight hours later we were out helping with Terry Fox Runs. I like to see how people react to stress. Travelling 12 hours on a bus will be a good test for our squad.”
Hennelly says neither squad will have a definite travel advantage. The coach of the Dinos, Rod Durrant hails from the Grande Prairie area as well—with is another reason why the two teams are travelling to the area. “Rod was good enough to tour through the Kootenays last season for us,” says Hennelly. “It is our time to reciprocate.” The Dinos also have three players with ties to the area—including Ciarian McGovern—who played with the Canadian Junior National team.
The WolfPack plan to spend Thursday night in Jasper before heading to Grande Prairie for matches Friday (Oct 2) and Saturday (Oct 3).
TRU will take its entire roster to Grande Prairie, which means fans in the area will see one of the captains of that Junior National Team (Gord Perrin of Creston, BC) and a member of the bronze medal winning Canadian entry at this summer’s Maccabiah Games (Kyle Donen of White Rock, BC)
Both matches in Grande Prairie are 8 pm (MDT) starts at Grande Prairie Regional College.
The WolfPack will take Thanksgiving weekend off before hosting Trinity Western at the Tournament Capital Center in pre-season play October 23 rd.
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