WVB WEB
Archie Golding - LeftRight Media
1
UBC Thunderbirds UBC 3-2,3-2
3
Winner TRU WolfPack TRU 4-1,4-1
UBC Thunderbirds UBC
3-2,3-2
1
Final
3
TRU WolfPack TRU
4-1,4-1
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UBC Thunderbirds UBC 25 15 18 12 (1)
TRU WolfPack TRU 7 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | TRU WolfPack

Incredible comeback sees WolfPack defeat No. 2 ranked Thunderbirds

QUICK FIRE
  • After a first set in which everything that could go wrong did go wrong, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's volleyball team stormed back to defeat the U SPORTS No. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds 3-1 (7-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-12) inside the TCC Friday night.

DIFFERENCE MAKERS
  • Rida Erlalelitepe led the WolfPack attack with 14 kills followed closely by Keira Gent who finished with 11 on a .391 hitting percentage to go along with 10 digs. Libby Meldrum recorded 31 assists as well as both a pair of service aces and blocks while Olivia Andulajevic recorded 15 digs.
  • Lucy Borowski led the Thunderbirds with 15 kills and a pair of service aces. Kylee Glanville added another 10 for the visitors.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • UBC dominated the first set firing in six aces while holding the 'Pack to just three kills en route to the commanding 25-7 set victory but from there on out it was all WolfPack.
  • Libby Meldrum set the tone with a service ace to start the second set. Erlalelitepe and Gent both had four kills in the frame as the WolfPack turned what was a 6-6 tie into 20-12 lead thanks to an18-6 run capped off by three-straight kills from Gent. An ace from Maria Dancheva ended the frame with TRU winning 25-15 as the hosts hit .407 per cent as a team.
  • It was more of the same in the third from the 'Pack. Erlalelitepe had five kills in the set as the WolfPack jumped out to an early 11-6 lead punctuated by a block from Meldrum and Faith Christensen. The WolfPack kept the pressure on from there and Gent put the set away with a kill to win it 25-18.
  • The WolfPack refused to let UBC back into the game in the fourth. Gent fired in five kills and Erlalelitepe four in a set that TRU took an early 8-3 edge in. The WolfPack ran that advantage out the rest of the way as they dominated the frame with the 25-12 victory.

QUOTABLE (WolfPack head coach Chad Grimm)
  • I can't recall seeing of a comeback like that from our first set, maybe Muhammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle.
  • After the first set I just said to the team that we've been down that road and we don't like the feeling it leaves you with at the end of the game – UBC could play awesome and they can win and that's okay but we need to play our game and let the chips fall where they may. But we don't want to be the little dog in the dog park that just rolls on its back as soon as the big dog comes in.
  • It's nice obviously that they took that message after the first set and were able to turn it around.
  • ON THE MENTAL STRENGTH IT TOOK TO COMEBACK "I think that deep down our players do believe they are a good team and they were getting held back for whatever reason. The ghosts of Christmas past are a real thing until you do something about it, and I think sometimes as an athlete you can be afraid to change even though you know that's what you need to do. It's just the mentality that they have to go forward in being aggressive, playing our game and trusting what we do. As soon as we did that we started to roll and play our game.
  • WHAT LED TO THE TURNAROUND "Our first contact got way better, obviously that was not good in the first set and then defensively I thought we became a tough team to score on. We did a much better job with tips and rolls so we weren't letting them score easily, so defensively I thought we did a good job.

NOTABLE
  • The win moves TRU to 4-1 on the year where they are tied for second place in the conference.
  • This was TRU's first win over UBC since 2022, a streak that saw the 'Pack suffer 11-straight 3-0 defeats.
  • WolfPack head coach Chad Grimm earned his 100th CW regular season victory on the night.
  • TRU held UBC to hitting just .164 per cent as team in the game.
  • Faith Christensen moved past the 200 block mark in her WolfPack career on the night, becoming just the third player in program history to do so.
 
UP NEXT
  • The WolfPack and Thunderbirds will do battle again tomorrow, Saturday Nov. 8, in a game that's slated to get underway at at 3:00 p.m. inside the TCC.
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