WolfPack knock off Cougars to start second half

KAMLOOPS – A clean sweep was the story for a Thompson Rivers WolfPack women’s volleyball team that started the second half of their season with a bang inside the TCC in a 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-22) victory over the Regina Cougars.
 
“We worked hard in the last week to make sure that we were able to play the way that we did tonight,” said head coach Behlul Yavasgel. “Our focus was to go hard right from the beginning to the end. We have 12 athletes that are all ready to go right now, so we went out full-tilt and finished that way.”

Entering the second half of the season in a tight battle for a playoff spot, the win was crucial for the ‘Pack who move to 6-7 on the year after outlasting a Cougars team that battled hard despite falling to 0-13.
 
“The record doesn’t show what kind of team they are,” said Yavasgel of the Cougars. “This is a tough league to get a win and the more you lose, the harder it becomes. Before the game I told the team that this wasn’t going to be easier than any other game, if we gave Regina one opportunity they were right there.”
 
Missing star player Ema Palkovicova due to injury, the ‘Pack were led by a trio of hitters offensively. Erin Mutch finished with a team-high ten kills, Brooklyn Olfert added nine and Kate Lamothe had three service aces to go with her six successful attacks. Hayley McNaught was a force in the middle for TRU, racking up three solo blocks.
 
Jordy McEachern had a game-high 11 kills for the Cougars with Nya Chiek and Bailey Balaberda recoding six and five respectively. Kaykyn Brown led the way at the net for Regina with a pair of solo and three assisted blocks.
 
The WolfPack’s scrappy defence and persistent hitting was the difference in the game, as they hit .136 as a team on the night while holding Regina to just -.010. Where the visitors shone was in their blocking game, as they racked up 23 blocks on the night to keep the score tight throughout the contest.
 
After the teams traded points early in the first set, TRU took the first large lead of the night when Lamothe fired in a service ace to cap off an 8-2 WolfPack run that saw them hold a 18-12 edge.  Buoyed by a block from Balaberda, the Cougars responded with a run of their own to make the game close at 18-17. TRU was able to control the latter portions of the set however and back-to-back kills from Lamothe saw the first end with the ‘Pack taking the 25-22 victory.
 
The story was much the same in the second set. TRU jumped out to an early lead before the Cougars rallied to make things close late. An Erin Mutch kill gave the ‘Pack a 23-19 lead before a strong serving run from Cadence Johns allowed the Cougars to cut things to 23-22. Mutch refused to let the visitors take the set however and ended the frame with a massive solo block.
 
Regina had their most efficient set of the night offensively in the third, but it was a case of too little, too late. With the teams tied at 20, the ‘Pack ripped off three straight points thanks to a pair of kills from Mutch before Caitlin Larrigan ended the night with her first kill of the game.
 
These same teams will be back in action tomorrow afternoon inside the TCC with a scheduled start time of 3 p.m.