KAMLOOPS – In search of their first win of the season, the Thompson Rivers WolfPack women’s volleyball team came up just shy in a back-and-forth 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 25-19, 17-25, 15-11) defeat at the hands of the Fraser Valley Cascades.
Missing several key players as well as head coach Chad Grimm due to COVID-19 related protocols, the short-handed WolfPack went toe-to-toe the Cascades in what was the first U SPORTS match between the two teams in their history.
“I am so proud of how they played,” said WolfPack alum and assistant coach Kendra Finch, who took the reins as head coach on the night. “What we talked about going into the game was to just be relaxed and have fun, because we have nothing to lose and the girls absolutely did that.”
Coming off what was the best weekend of her young U SPORTS career last time out, rookie Brooklyn Olfert was electric for the ‘Pack. The rookie from Winnipeg recorded a career-high 19 kills, nine of which came in the opening set.
“She’s an explosive well-rounded player,” said Finch. “I’m proud of how she handles herself as well, she is super steady on the court and I think that contributes to her overall play as well. I think she’s got a bright future ahead of her.”
Siobhan Toal had her best game as a member of the ‘Pack, finishing with 10 kills and 17 digs while Anastasiia Muzyka racked up a season-high 34 assists.
Amanda Matsui was dominant for Fraser Valley. A fourth year from Port Coquitlam, Matsui finished the night with a game-high 21 kills while finishing on .292 per cent of her attacks. Cailin Bitter added 35 assists and five service aces for the Cascades.
TRU came out swinging in what was their first home game since the middle of November. An 8-0 run to start the gamed keyed by some difficult serves courtesy of Muzyka gave the ‘Pack a lead they would never surrender. Olfert racked up nine kills in the set as TRU jumped out to the early lead.
Fraser Valley responded by taking the next two sets in a row.
The visitors took a four-point lead into the technical timeout of the second set thanks to a Grace Warkentin kill. The WolfPack cut the lead to within two a couple of times but Matsui was able to lead UFV to the 25-22 set victory.
The third set was all Cascades after the technical timeout. Fraser Valley won 10 of the final 14 points in the set with Zoe Arca grabbing a pair of kills for the 25-19 win.
It was the WolfPack’s turn to respond in the fourth. The hosts led wire-to-wire and some timely kills from Faith Christensen and Sasha Haldane allowed a Muzyka ace to seal the set with the score 25-17.
Fraser Valley showed more composure down the stretch run of the fifth set to send them to victory. UFV hit .278 per cent compared to the WolfPack’s .000 and made two fewer service errors to escape with the 15-11 victory.
For Finch, who is a member of the U SPORTS Female Apprentice Coach program, the game was an opportunity to take the reins of a U SPORTS game for the very first time.
“Definitely a little shaky in the beginning, I had a little jitter going,” said a laughing Finch. “But it was really fun and I’m so glad I had Sarah Loedel and Robbyn Bennett supporting me and I think the team all rallied together and they made it really easy.”
These teams will be back in action inside the Tournament Capital Centre tomorrow afternoon with a scheduled start time of 3:45 p.m.
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