KAMLOOPS – The Thompson Rivers WolfPack women’s volleyball team came just four points away from upsetting the UBC Okanagan Heat – the number nine ranked team in Canada – before eventually falling 3-2 (15-25, 25-22, 20-25, 15-11) on Friday.
A young WolfPack team did more than just compete with the high-flying Heat, taking a pair of dominant set victories before dropping a heart-breaking fifth frame.
“We out-blocked and out-defended them, however they were more efficient offensively in crucial moments,” said WolfPack head coach Behlul Yavasgel.
Ema Palkovicova (18 kills), Erin Mutch (12) and Brooklyn Olfert (10) spearheaded the WolfPack attack. Abby Spratt racked up 36 assists to go along with three service aces while rookie libero Olivia Andulajevic continued to impress with 21 digs in the game.
Sydney Grills had 26 kills on her 59 attacks for the Heat with Kendall Stephan adding 10.
TRU roared out of the blocks with a commanding 25-15 victory in the first set before the Heat responded with a 25-22 victory in the second. After the teams traded the third and fourth sets the match went to a fifth and final frame.
In that fifth set UBCO took the first six points in a row before the WolfPack were able to respond. A kill from Palkovicova brough the score all the way back to 8-6 but that was as close as TRU would come as the Heat were able to ride out the remainder of the set for the 15-11 win.
TRU (3-4) and UBCO (5-2) will be back in action tomorrow afternoon in Kelowna. The two teams will play at 3 p.m. and that game can be watched live on canadawest.tv.