TRU VS Laval: There's history there
Pat Hennelly and his Thompson Rivers University WolfPack aren’t afraid of a challenge. And that’s why they aren’t fearful of meeting the host team to open up the 2008 CIS Mens Volleyball Championships. Afterall, it’s not like they haven’t seen the Laval Rouge et Or before. The two teams met barely two months ago when the ‘Pack hosted a 5 team International Tournament.
“We’ve got so many unknowns going into this tournament,“ says Hennelly. “ First time at nationals… first time as a group at this level… knowing that we’ve played this team is an advantage. Obviously they have played us as well. But we got the 3-0 win (25-23,25-20,25-18 on January 4).”
In that match outside hitter Robin Schoebel (2nd year, Monaco) had 9 kills. Middle Martin Korsbak (2nd year, Denmark) had 7 kills and 9.5 points. Laval was led by Karl De Grandpre. The 1 st year left side had nine kills.
The WolfPack played before a thousand people during that tournament. That’ll be a drop in the bucket compared to what they’ll face Thursday night in Laval. The Rouge et Or draw about 25 hundred people on a regular basis.
“We are going to have to address that in practice,“says Hennelly. “We need to work on our non verbal communication. What I am hoping is that our guys will feed off the crowd as well. We have done well in hostile environments like Brandon. The crowd will be bigger and louder (in Laval). I just hope we are up for the challenge.”
In reflecting on TRU’s hosting of the Little Caesars Hot and Ready tournament in January, Hennelly says it will not only a dividend in the familiarity of playing against Laval, but also against other unknown teams as well.
“Although we didn’t play well against Winnipeg and Pepperdine,” states Hennelly, “I told the guys that all those experiences help. The schedule we put ourselves through this year…how tough it was, how rigorous it was…is preparing us for this time of year.”
Hennelly says win or lose on Thursday, its going to be a great experience playing the host team at the Nationals.
“You know, we’ll be the home team in two years. This will obviously help us down the road.”
The TRU boss adds that the nuances: from extra curricular activities like banquets to sightseeing will take away from the business of winning volleyball games. He hopes that while an appearance at the CIS Nationals this year is great, the residual effects on his program will last for many years.