Wolfpack Hold Back Huskie Attack, Capture Straight Sets Sweep

SASKATOON, Sask. – The Thompson Rivers Wolfpack earned a 41-27 advantage in kills Friday night (Nov. 29) on the Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court in the Physical Activity Complex to capture a straight-sets sweep of the Saskatchewan Huskies. 

With the win, the U SPORTS No. 5-ranked Wolfpack improve to 7-2 on the season, earning a two game advantage over the field for fourth-place in the Canada West standings. Meanwhile the Huskies suffer their sixth loss of the campaign and move to 3-6 on the year. The Dogs now sit one game back of the Regina Cougars who hold the 10th, and final, playoff position in the conference. 

The Wolfpack winning effort was led by a trio of scorers who surpassed the double-digit mark in Brooklyn Olfert, Rida Erlalelitepe, and Maria Dancheva who recorded 15.5, 15.0, and 13.0 points each. 

In addition to their leading scorers, Thompson Rivers held a significant advantage in hitting percentage, converting on 25% of attacks to the Huskies’ 10%. Despite the Dogs earning an 11-9 lead in blocks, the Wolfpack were able to earn the decisive victory thanks in part to their strong serving performance in which they led the home team 7-1 in aces.

The Huskie effort was led by Keely Anderson and Taryn Hannah who were the only Saskatchewan players to reach double-digit point totals with 13.0 and 12.0 respectively. Anderson was also the most efficient hitter on the Huskies by a significant margin, finishing the match with a .381 hitting percentage. 

The Wolfpack were able to take the first set thanks to three significant scoring runs which drove the score to 7-4, 13-8, and 19-11. The second saw the visiting team take a commanding 16-9 lead before the the Dogs battled back to cut the lead to two late with key kills from Keely Anderson who recorded 3.5 points in just seven rallies. Thompson Rivers would then take a 2-0 set lead with a 4-1 run to close out the frame. The Wolfpack then claimed the convincing victory following a strong opening set run, building an early lead which proved to be too much for the Huskies.

The two teams will return to the Ron & Jane Graham Centre Court for the second match of their weekend series tomorrow with the first set scheduled for 3:00 PM CST.