Rida Erlalelitepe
Archie Golding - LeftRight Media
3
Winner UBC Thunderbirds UBC 4-2,4-2
2
TRU WolfPack TRU 4-2,4-2
Winner
UBC Thunderbirds UBC
4-2,4-2
3
Final
2
TRU WolfPack TRU
4-2,4-2
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
UBC Thunderbirds UBC 25 16 25 21 15 (3)
TRU WolfPack TRU 23 25 20 25 11 (2)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball | | TRU WolfPack

WolfPack push Thunderbirds the distance in five set thriller

QUICK FIRE
  • In what was a back-and-forth match all night long, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's volleyball team went toe-to-toe with the No. 2 ranked UBC Thunderbirds before eventually falling 3-2 (25-23, 16-25, 25-20, 21-25, 15-11) Saturday night.
DIFFERENCE MAKERS
  • Keira Gent, Hail Ward, Rida Erlalelitepe and Maria Dancheva were all strong in attack for the 'Pack. Gent finished with a team-high 17 kills to go along with 13 digs. Ward added 11 kills and 13 digs of her own. Erlalelitepe recorded 11 kills and a trio of service aces while Dancheva hit .450 per cent to finish with 10 kills and a pair of blocks.
  • Kylee Glanville tallied a game-high 21 kills for the Thunderbirds with Lucy Borowski adding 16.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • The first frame set the tone for the rest of the night as it couldn't have been any tighter. Gent came out firing with seven kills in the set and a big swing from her tied it up at 14-14 after UBC had taken an early lead. The Thunderbirds took back  the lead and control of the set with a 23-18 edge but TRU refused to go away. Three kills from Gent and an Erlalelitepe ace sparked a 5-1 WolfPack run to bring the visitors back to within one at 24-23 but that was as close as TRU would come as the visitors were able to hold on for the 25-23 victory.
  • The WolfPack bounced back to dominate the second as Gent had four kills and Dancheva three in the set. Faith Christensen capped off a big WolfPack run that swung what was an 8-7 UBC lead into an 18-11 TRU advantage. From there the 'Pack were able to see out the set comfortably with a Maria Dancheva kill putting the finishing touches on a 25-16 victory.
  • After UBC took the third 25-20, TRU battled back in the fourth to force a fifth and final set. With the fourth knotted up at 18-18, back-to-back WolfPack blocks from Erlalelitepe and Libby Meldrum along with a UBC attack error gave TRU the 21-18 edge. UBC tried to fight back but an ace from Erlalelitpe down the stretch allowed TRU to pull out the 25-21 victory.
  • Hail Ward led the way with three kills in a fifth set that went right to the wire. The WolfPack fought back from a three-point hole to get within one on multiple occasions but couldn't quite complete the comeback as UBC took the set 15-11.

QUOTABLE (WolfPack head coach Chad Grimm)
  • I said to the team before the game that we need to get into the mindset of giving ourselves a chance to win and we did that.
  • It also shows that the margins are small and in the fifth set, after playing for over two hours, if you miss a few assignments it's going to sting you in the end. I think hopefully it will be a good learning experience.
  • Overall coming back the second night can be tough after having a good result on the first night so I'm happy with the performance.

NOTABLE
  • The result moves both teams to 4-2 on the season. TRU sits ahead of UBC in sole possession of third place in Canada West with 13 points while UBC has 12.
 
UP NEXT
  • The WolfPack will hit the road next weekend as they travel to Saskatchewan for a pair of games with the Regina Cougars.
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