KAMLOOPS – The Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's volleyball team will play with their season on the line tomorrow, Saturday, Feb. 28 at 6:00 p.m, inside the TCC after they fell 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-20, 25-20) to the Manitoba Bisons Friday night.
"I thought we were a little bit passive, they were definitely the aggressors and they did a really good job out of system of putting the ball in a spot where they could take a swing and they weren't afraid to go after it," said WolfPack head coach Chad grimm. "Whereas we were a little too easy out of system in giving them a ball that they could transition and turn around back at us."
Raya Surinx, the two-time reigning U SPORTS Player of the Year, was electric for Manitoba with a Canada West playoff record 38.5 points on the night. The fourth-year outside hitter finished the night with 30 kills, four aces and six blocks. Rookie setter Julia Martens tallied 43 assists for Manitoba while Aviendah Plett added six blocks.
Newly-minted Canada West Second Team All-Star
Rida Erlalelitepe led the way for the 'Pack with 17 kills and a pair of service aces.
Libby Meldrum added 43 assists and libero
Olivia Andulajevic tallied 11 digs and 42 successful service receptions.
Surinx and Erlalelitepe went toe-to-toe in the first set with both players tallying six kills on ten attacks. A 4-0 Manitoba run in the middle of the frame that featured a pair of service aces from Andi Almonte turned what was a 10-9 TRU lead into a 13-0 Manitoba edge. The Bisons never looked back from there, taking the set 25-21.
The WolfPack bounced back in the second. With Manitoba up 23-22 late,
Hail Ward fired in a kill followed by a pair of Bisons errors to send the 'Pack to a 25-23 victory. Erlalelitepe led TRU with four kills in the set followed closely by Ward with three.
Manitoba put the game away with back-to-back set victories in the third and fourth. 15 kills the rest of the way from Surinx led the visitors to victories of 25-20 and 25-22 to finish the match.
The all-important game three is set to hit the TCC tomorrow night with a trip to the Canada West Final Four on the line. Tickets are available for sell online at
gowolfpack.ca/tickets.
"I just think we can't grip the stick so tight," said Grimm on tomorrow's match. "You could see from the service line we weren't as loose or as confident. We were thinking a little bit too much about not missing instead of going after our targets and putting them in trouble. To their credit they passed the ball well tonight and if they do that it's going to be tough for us – I think that should be our advantage on that side of the ball and it wasn't - so definitely tomorrow we have to do a better job in that area."
