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Sports

WolfPack Blitzes and Blurbs - January 31

Cam Charron - Sports Editor

This upcoming weekend is a sports fan’s dream. Bear with me: Simon Fraser sends four teams up to Kamloops to take on the WolfPack. That’ll be men and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, and men’s hockey. Those games will all take place throughout the weekend. This will be our last chance to see these SFU programs before they join a United States conference next season.

Beyond all three of our campus sports teams going on, this is also Superbowl weekend. I won’t pretend to be a lifelong Saints fan, but I am a USC Trojans fan, so seeing Reggie Bush in the Superbowl will be something special. The night before, we get to see UFC 109 and the Maple Leafs and Senators, who always put on a show, regardless of how bad Toronto has been this year. Oh, also, four WolfPack teams were in action this week on the road. Let’s see how they did:

Women’s volleyball

Ouch. After running the torch Wednesday, Amanda Frayne and her team traveled to Saskatchewan, where they dropped their first match on Thursday in 5 sets. Her, Kelly Asleson and Anna Dyakiewicz combined for 37 kills, and the three of them have been bright spots for the team this year.

They didn’t fare much better Friday, falling in 4 to the Huskies. On the upside, the now 0-16 WolfPack face the 2-15 Clansmen in Friday and Saturday matinees. Those games will be at the Tournament Capital Centre at 2:00. If there was ever a chance for a win this season, it is this weekend.

Men’s volleyball

Thursday’s game was a disappointing 5-set loss to the Saskatchewan Huskies, as the dropped their first conference game in 2010. Gord Perrin had 20 kills and Kevin Tillie had 15, but at the wrong times. Perrin had a service error, and Tillie had an attack error on match point in the fifth.

They’d redeem themselves Friday, winning a 4-set decision. Colin Carson continued his strong rookie year with 46 assists, and Tillie had the winning kill, one of his 14 on the night. The ‘Pack are at 9-7, and get this week off as SFU does not have a men’s volleyball team. Their last games will be home dates against Trinity Western Feburary 12 and 13.

Women’s basketball

Kaitlyn Widsten scored 23 Friday night, but it wasn’t enough, and the WolfPack lost against Trinity Western 78-85. All quarters were even affairs except the second, where the Spartans scored a 29-19 advantage. The ‘Pack were outrebounded 41-33 and had 27 turnovers to Trinity’s 21.

Saturday was a sloppier affair, but the Spartans found their legs in the fourth quarter, outscoring the WolfPack 21-7 and left TRU nursing a 50-60 defeat. Tracy Kocs had 15 points for the now 3-13 ‘Pack, who have a tough test against the Clansmen this weekend. They’ll play Friday at 6:00 PM and Saturday at 5:00 PM against an #1 ranked SFU team that hasn’t lost a game since Bush was president.

Men’s basketball

Trinity is deep in the playoff hunt and need these wins, and on Friday, they blew another fourth quarter lead and lost 83-89. Greg Stewart, “Mr. Double Double” had 20 points and 16 boards for the WolfPack, but it wasn’t enough, with the Spartans outshooting the ‘Pack in the second half 46 per cent to 31.

Saturday, though, after the ‘Pack blew another lead after being up 65-52 going into the fourth quarter, Sean Garvey hit one of his seven three balls on the night (and three of a season-high 37 points on the year), and Stewart ended the game with a slam dunk off an inbounds in a quick sequence to win 81-76, their third on the year, which is more than last year’s total, playing spoilers. Their games against the #7 Clansmen will come directly at the conclusion of the women’s games.