Andrew Snucins

University of Manitoba MAN 0-0,0-0

Thompson Rivers University TRU 2-6,2-6

University of Manitoba MAN

0-0,0-0

Final

Nov. 24, 2023

Thompson Rivers University TRU

2-6,2-6

Set Scores
Team	1	2	3	4	F
University of Manitoba MAN	25	23	25	29	(3)
Thompson Rivers University TRU	15	25	21	27	(1)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | 11/24/2023 9:28:00 PM | TRU WolfPack

WolfPack push No. 8 Bisons to the limit

Next Match:

Manitoba

11/25/2023 | 3:00 PM

Full Schedule

Nov. 25 (Sat) / 3:00 PM

Manitoba

History

QUICK FIRE

An extremely young Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's volleyball squad gave as good as they got up against one of the top teams in Canada Friday night before eventually falling 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-21, 29-27) to the Manitoba Bisons inside the TCC.

DIFFERENCE MAKERS

Brooklyn Olfert led the way with 13 kills for TRU with Kate Lamothe adding nine and a pair of service aces. Setter Libby Meldrum had 29 assists to go along with four block assists, while Addison Witkowski tallied five kills on 11 swings as well as five block assists.
Raya Surinx was dominant for the Bisons with 18 kills. Light Uchechukwu added 14 while middle Brenna Bedosky saw plenty of action with 13 kills and three block assists. Setter Katreena Bentley racked up 47 helpers.
TRU won the battle at the net with 16 blocks to Manitoba's 12, but the visitors committed six fewer service errors at 12-18.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Manitoba came of out the gates flying and hit .419 per cent as a team led by five apiece from Bedosky and Andi Almonte. A 5-1 run keyed by three kills from Bedosky gave Manitoba an 8-4 lead that they'd never surrender. Back-to-back kills by Almonte and Surinx gave the Bisons the set at 25-15.
The WolfPack came to life in the second set. They held Manitoba to hitting just .179 per cent while Olfert had four kills and rookie Hailey Ward a couple. Witkowski put together a block and a kill on back-to-back plays to help the 'Pack jump out to a 5-0 lead early. Manitoba rallied all the way back to lead 19-18 before a 6-0 TRU run gave them a 23-19 advantage. Rookie Myah Cressy saw out the set with the second service ace of her young career at 25-23.
Five kills early in the set from Surinx helped the Bisons jump out to 19-10 advantage in the third. The 'Pack refused to go down without a fight however and Ward capped off an 11-4 TRU run with an ace of her own. It was too little too late for TRU though as a kill from Eve Catojo allowed the visitors to escape with the 25-21 set victory.
Set four was a back-and-forth battle throughout the entire set. After an early Bisons run to 6-2, TRU responded to lead 11-9 and then neither team led by more than two the rest of the way. A block from Witkowski and Olfert helped TRU fight off one set point but an Uchechukwu kill followed up by and Almonte ace gave the Bisons the set and match at 29-27.

NOTABLE

Already a young team, TRU found themselves playing without a number of key veterans due to injury.
The five blocks from Witkowski was a new career high for the middle from Medicine Hat.
Kamloops rookie Hailey Ward set a new career benchmark with six kills.

QUOTABLE – WolfPack head coach Chad Grimm

"I thought the girls found a way to grind it out, to compete and make Manitoba earn it so overall I was happy with the way they competed."
"We had multiple times tonight where we had an all rookie front row. There were times where Brooklyn was our only third year on the court and everyone else was younger than that, so yeah it's a young team but I don't think that means we can't compete and learn."
"We knew we were in tough in the first half of the season in terms of the teams that we were playing but I thought we got better tonight and if we keep getting better we'll set ourselves up in a decent spot after Christmas."

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