Thunder Fall to Ooks To Open Weekend Series

EDMONTON, AB (November 26, 2021) – The Concordia University of Edmonton (CUE) Thunder opened their weekend series against the NAIT Ooks Friday night at home. The night ended up not going the way the Thunder wanted, as NAIT was in control from start to finish to cruise to a 3-0 win in straight sets.

The Ooks came out firing in the first set, jumping to an early lead and catching the Thunder in a big hole early. The Thunder were able to close the gap later in the set, but NAIT cruised to a 25-11 first set victory. The Thunder were able to rally a bit in the second set, taking an early lead and hoping to reverse their fortune in the new set. Their lead didn't last long, however, as the Ooks were able to quickly bounce back. NAIT and Concordia kept the set tight until the end where the Ooks pulled away and didn't look back as they took the second set 25-20. The momentum of the Ooks carried into the third set as they again jumped to an early lead. The Thunder were able to keep things tight for most of the set, before the Ooks took control and won the set 25-17 and closed out the match in straight sets.

After the game, Thunder head coach Ken McLaughlin commented "kudos to NAIT, they caused a lot of trouble for our receivers in the first and third sets. But our group is trending upwards as we work on our on-court communication and we understand it will be a process for us to compete against one of the top squads in the North Division, especially one that's extremely well coached like NAIT."

The One Team Sports players of the game were #5 Carter Hills for NAIT and #3 Russell Chan for the Thunder.

The Thunder wrap up their weekend series with the Ooks tomorrow night at NAIT in the rematch. Concordia returns home next Friday as they welcome the Keyano Huskies in their last home game before the Christmas break.