Some early matches for the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack women’s volleyball team this week.
The Pack (5-1) have a pair of Noon PDT starts against the University of Regina Cougars in Canada West play Friday and Saturday (Nov 15-16) at the Tournament Capital Centre.
On Friday, the WolfPack are holding their second annual “School Day”. Over 12 hundred elementary and secondary students are expected to fill the TCC to watch the match.
Thompson Rivers sits in a tie for third place in league standings going into the weekend following a split with the Alberta Pandas last weekend. The Cougars were swept at home last weekend by the Manitoba Bisons.
Last year, these teams met in Regina with the Cougars beating the WolfPack in straight sets both nights (27-25,28-26,25-18 on Nov 9th. Olga Savenchuk had 12 kills in 30 swings for TRU. On Nov 10th, Regina won 25-13,15-19,25-9 with Savenchuk having nine kills).
Regina was last at the Tournament Capital Centre on January 27-28, 2017 where the WolfPack won both matches in straight sets 25-16,25-14,25-18 and 26-24,25-10,25-17)
The Cougars feature one local player on their roster. Katie House is a 6’1″ outside hitter from South Kamloops Secondary. She played club volleyball for the Kamloops Volleyball Association along with a private club program run by former UCC assistant coach Wai Mai. One of her club teammates there was current WolfPack outside hitter/libero Katie Ludvig.
Regina’s Sierra Parris-Kruger stands second in the Canada West in digs (92) and digs per set (4.18). TRU’s Kendra Finch (5th year, outside hitter, North Vancouver, BC) is fourth in the Canada West in kills per set (3.44) while newcomer Kseniya Kocyigit (1st year, middle, Byaroza, Belarus) is second in the league when it comes to hitting per centage (.348). She leads the WolfPack with 25 blocks (20 assists) and service aces (12) and she is third on the team in kills (55).
Other Players to Watch:
Regina:
Britt Davis (4th year, outside hitter, Sherwood Park, AB): leads the Cougars in kills with 59 and second on the team in digs with 60.
Jessica Lerminiaux (3rd year, outside hitter, Regina, SK): is second on Regina in kills 52 and has a team leading 5 service aces along with 46 digs (second on the team)
Annika Hufnagel (2nd year, setter, Melfort, SK): leads the team with 106 assists and 25 digs (fourth on the Cougars)
Thompson Rivers:
Olga Savenchuk (2nd year, outside hitter, Donetsk, Ukraine): second on the WolfPack with 60 kills and leads the team in digs with 77.
Anastasiia Muzyka (3rd year, setter, Polawa, Ukraine): leads the team with 166 assists and is tied for second on the club with 11 blocks (10 assists)
Abby Spratt (4th year, setter, Calgary, AB): second on the team with 99 assists and second on the team with nine service aces.
These matches conclude the WolfPack’s four match homestand and are the final ones at home before the Christmas break. TRU will travel to UBC next week (Nov 22-23) and then to Saskatchewan (Nov 29-30) before the first half of the season ends.
The Cougars-WolfPack matches will be shown on a pay-per view basis on Canada West TV presented by Co-op. You can access them by accessing: https://cw.yaretv.com/.
James Matthews and WolfPack men’s volleyball setter Anton Napolitano will have the play by play and commentary for Friday’s match. TRU Sports Information Officer Larry Read and Napolitano will have the call on Saturday.
Results will be available on the WolfPack social media platforms and their website www.goWolfPack.ca.
COMMENTS OF WOLFPACK HEAD COACH CHAD GRIMM:
https://twitter.com/GoTRUWolfPack/status/1194822302887604224
COMMENTS OF WOLFPACK OUTSIDE HITTER OLGA SAVENCHUK (2nd year, Donetsk, Ukraine):
https://twitter.com/GoTRUWolfPack/status/1194821488748089346
[SOURCE: Thompson Rivers University]