In this photo: Stuart Richey and the TRU WolfPack men’s volleyball team must sweep the Saskatchewan Huskies in Saskatoon to keep their Canada West playoff hopes alive. KTW file photo
It’s dizzying to consider all the scenarios in the Canada West men’s volleyball playoff picture.
But, for head coach Pat Hennelly and the TRU WolfPack, there’s only one thing to focus on: Winning.
“It’s narrowed down,” Hennelly said of the convoluted playoff picture.
“We came in with all these crazy possibilities . . . really, we can’t catch Winnipeg. I don’t think we can catch UBC because I project they win one, if not both, against Regina.”
Saskatchewan is the only team TRU can catch, Hennelly said, noting an unlikely Mount Royal sweep of Alberta will dash the Pack’s playoff hopes.
“This is the most control we’ve had,” he continued. “It’s just narrowed down to one thing. It’s us against Sask.”
TRU enters the final weekend of regular-season play riding a six-match winning streak.
The Saskatchewan Huskies and the Pack square off tomorrow (Feb. 6) and on Saturday in Saskatoon.
TRU is on the outside looking in at the playoffs, in danger of missing the post-season after winning a Canada West bronze medal in 2013-2014.
With 11 wins and 11 losses, TRU is in 10th place, three spots back of the conference’s final playoff team, the No. 7 UBC Thunderbirds.
The Thunderbirds, too, have an 11-11 record, as do the Mount Royal Cougars, who sit in ninth, one spot up on TRU.
The Calgary Dinos, at 11-13, have completed their regular-season action and occupy eighth place.
All four teams have 22 points and are separated by virtue of a tie-breaker — the ratio of sets won versus sets lost this season.
Currently, 10th-place TRU has a ratio of 42:43, or 0.98, while ninth-place Mount Royal is 42:42 (1.00). The eighth-place Dinos are 48:46 (1.04) and the Thunderbirds, seventh, are 48:42 (1.14).
The Huskies are 12-10 entering the weekend and occupy sixth place in the conference.
Should TRU sweep the series, Saskatchewan will fall out of the playoffs. Should Saskatchewan win even one match, it’s TRU that will be finished for the season.
“It has never been like this. It has never been this tight,” Hennelly said.
“I think the other thing it has never been, there’s never been this kind of movement. For a team [Saskatchewan] that could be hosting or out, it has never been like that.”
Other series will alter the picture, too.
The Mount Royal Cougars will face the nation’s No. 2 seed, the Canada West-leading Alberta Golden Bears.
Ideally for TRU, the Bears will sweep the Cougars with the sort of play that has led the Edmonton club to a 19-3 record this season.
UBC has the most favourable schedule of all the teams still vying for the playoffs, facing off against the 2-20 Regina Cougars this weekend.
The series has been all but won by the Thunderbirds, which would put the team at 13-11 and out of reach of the WolfPack.
The fifth-place Manitoba Bisons, too, are essentially out of reach for the Pack, despite being 12-10 and just two points ahead of TRU.
Manitoba’s two final matches come against the conference-worst MacEwan Griffins, who are just 1-21 on the season.
An anxiety-filled weekend of scoreboard watching will cap a memorable regular season.
“It has been pretty hectic, for sure,” said Stuart Richey, who is playing in his fifth and final season with the Pack.
“It has been pretty crazy going into every weekend, realizing that it’s a must-win, no matter who you’re playing.”
The season would be all the more memorable if it finishes with a playoff berth.
“Running the table in the second semester and making playoffs would be a dream come true, for sure,” Richey said.
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