Hail Ward
Andrew Snucins
3
Winner Thompson Rivers University TRU 0-0,0-0
0
MacEwan University MAC 0-0,0-0
Winner
Thompson Rivers University TRU
0-0,0-0
3
Final
0
MacEwan University MAC
0-0,0-0
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Thompson Rivers University TRU 25 25 25 (3)
MacEwan University MAC 21 9 23 (0)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | TRU WolfPack

WolfPack take season opener in straight sets over Griffins

QUICK FIRE
  • It was game one, win one for a Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's volleyball team that started their 2025-26 campaign with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-9, 25-23) victory over the MacEwan Griffins Friday night in Edmonton.
 
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
  • Hail Ward and Keira Gent paced the WolfPack offence with 13 kills apiece while Ward also added two service aces and five blocks in the game. Myah Cressy contributed six blocks in the middle for TRU while Libby Meldrum registered 38 assists.
  • Kara Firth led MacEwan with nine kills.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • After the teams traded points early, the WolfPack pulled away late to take the set by a score of 25-21. With the WolfPack leading by one at the midway point, back-to-back blocks from Ward and Cressy sent the 'Pack into the lead at 18-15. An ace from Ward cemented TRU's lead at 21-17 before the third-year outside from Kamloops put the set away with her fourth kill of the set. Ward, Gent and Rida Erlalelitepe all tallied four kills in the frame.
  • The WolfPack dominated the second set, hitting nearly .400 per cent as a team to roll to the 25-9 victory. A 6-1 WolfPack run featuring an ace from Cressy to make the score 9-4 gave TRU a lead they wouldn't surrender as the WolfPack scored 16 of the set's next 21 points to take the frame. Ward led the way with seven kills in the second.
  • The WolfPack made sure to put the game away in the third. In a hole early, a 4-0 WolfPack run with Maria Dancheva at the line tied it up at 8-8. The WolfPack earned their first lead of the set at 14-13 thanks to a kill from Gent. The Griffins rallied late but a block from Cressy and Meldrum ended the match and gave TRU the win in their first game of the year.

QUOTABLE (WolfPack head coach Chad Grimm)
  • Overall we played a pretty solid road game. I thought in the first set we kept the ball in play, maybe didn't have a ton of service pressure but played pretty clean. I thought MacEwan played well, they were siding out well.
  • Then in the second set I thought our service pressure got to them a bit, we kept them out of system and were able to block and defend a little bit better.
  • In the third, we won the second by quite a wide margin, so I thought we came out a little flat making too many errors both attacking and from the end line but overall I thought we bent but we didn't break so getting a win on the road is always good.

NOTABLE
  • Ward, a product of NorKam, set a new career-high in kills (13) and blocks (5) in the game.
  • The WolfPack hit .330 per cent as a team while holding MacEwan to a mark of .103.
  • TRU handily won the battle at the service line with five aces as a team while holding the Griffins to none.
  • A major difference in the tight match came from the service line where TRU made 25 errors to MRU's 16.
 
UP NEXT
  • These same two teams will do battle again tomorrow afternoon in Edmonton in a game that gets underway at 2:00 p.m. pt.
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