Image Credit: Bison Sports 2017
February 09, 2017 - 4:35 PM
Kamloops, BC—With three weeks to go in the Canada West women’s volleyball regular season, the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack are the second hottest team in the league.
The WolfPack (10-8) have won their last four matches in a row going into their weekend home series with the University of Winnipeg Wesmen (2-16). The two teams will battle it out on the Warner Rentals court at the Tournament Capital Centre on Friday and Saturday (Feb 10-11).
“We knew this would be a portion of our schedule that we would need to take advantage of and put some points on the board so I am happy that we have been able to take care of business thus far, “says TRU head coach Chad Grimm.
Grimm has liked the way his team has progressed over the last few weeks. “I think we have improved in some phases of our transition game and making better quality digs and second contacts. We still have some way to go with being more disciplined with our block and defense but hopefully we can make some strides in these areas before the end of the season.”
The WolfPack enter the weekend in sixth place while the Wesmen sit in the bottom of the Canada West. Grimm says they aren’t taking their position lightly. “Although Winnipeg has struggled to get the result they are looking for they have played some tough matches and have beaten some quality opponents. I expect them to play us tough and I expect our group to be focused on the process and improve on the parts of our game that need to get better.”
He adds. “I am expecting our team to focus on our side of the net and improve each match. We have been speaking a lot about the ability to compete every time we take the court so I expect we can continue to do that.”
Iullia Pakhomenko (5th year, outside hitter, Donetsk, Ukraine) leads the league in kills per set (4.94), kills (316), is second in hitting percentage (.295) and fifth in service aces per set (0.55). Abby Spratt (1st year, setter, Calgary, AB) is third in assists per set (9.43).
Of the six remaining matches TRU has this regular season, three are at home and three are on the road. Grimm says they are good with that. “We are comfortable playing on the road or at home and although we have had a lot of travel since Christmas we know that if we want to be successful in the playoffs we are going to need to win on the road at some point. I sense that it doesn’t really matter where we play the match. Being ready to compete no matter the situation or the location is key for any athlete or team to be successful and that is what I expect us to do.”
Match time Friday will be 6 pm with the match on Saturday set for 5 pm. They are webcast on a pay-per-view basis on www.Canadawesttv.ca.
SIDE OUTS: The WolfPack men will be honoring their fifth year player-Daniel Eikeland Rod (outside hitter, Oz Norway) before their match on Saturday. The women have four graduating players—Pakhomenko, Alina Sopizhuk (Donetsk Ukraine), Morgan Kolasa and Julia Niemczewska (both Calgary, AB). They will be recognized next Thursday (Feb 16th) before the team’s final home match against UBCO.
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