WolfPack topple No. 4 Trinity Western in straight sets to set new program record win streak

QUICK FIRE

• In a battle between two of the top teams in the country the No. 7 ranked Thompson Rivers WolfPack women's volleyball team controlled the match from beginning to end in a 3-0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-23) victory over the No. 4 TWU Spartans in Langley.

DIFFERENCE MAKERS

• Hail Ward and Rida Erlalelitepe both paced the 'Pack with 12 kills. Lucy Millam added six in her first start of the season while Maria Dancheva put up six blocks.
• Kaylee Plouffe led the Spartans with 12 kills while Maryn Boldon added nine.
   

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The WolfPack set the tone for the night in the first set. With the match tied 11-11, TRU went on a quick 6-2 run spurred by a kill, block and ace from the Kamloopsian Ward to pull out a lead. The Spartans tried to rally but back-to-back kills from Erlalelitepe and Faith Christensen gave TRU the set at 25-21.
• TRU dominated the second, holding TWU to a negative hitting percentage while also out blocking and serving more aces than the Spartans. Back-to-back blocks from Christensen early paved the way for TRU to jump out to an early 5-0 edge. A serving run from Madison Maichin in the middle of the frame that saw the fifth-year nursing student score a pair of aces kept TRU in the lead at 16-7. From there TRU saw out the set with ease for the 25-14 victory.
• While the third set was the closest of the night, the WolfPack weren't going to be denied the victory. Again key for the 'Pack was their edge in both blocks (5-2) and service aces (3-0). With the Spartans leading 13-10 another strong serving run from Maichin got TRU right back into the lead with four-straight points. The set turned late when, with the score all knotted up at 20-20, a TWU service error followed by a Ward ace gave TRU the all-important two-point advantage. The two teams traded points the rest of the way before Erlalelitepe ended the march with her 12th kill of the night.

QUOTABLE (WolfPack head coach Chad Grimm)

• I thought we did a good job of getting off to a good start, sometimes that's been a little bit of an issue for us. We played our game right from the beginning and did a good job of establishing that early.
• Lucy Millam was in a starting role for the first time and I thought she did a tremendous job and her teammates did a great job of supporting her. She was the best version of herself and that's something we talked about is to not too much and play outside of yourself.
• Madison Maichin was awesome. She came in for some serves and to play defence and she made a difference every time which is great to see.
• Faith Christensen was strong at the net. That's the best blocking hands I've seen from her just consistently putting her hands in good spots.
• Overall it was a good performance and it's nice to be able to hold our nerve in the third and just get the job done.

NOTABLE

• TRU moves to 11-2 on the season where they continue to sit at the top of Canada West standings.
• The win was TRU's seventh-straight victory, their longest winning streak in Canada West play in program history.
• The WolfPack entered the weekend ranked 7th in the nation while TWU was ranked 4th.
• Dating back to last season this is also the third time in a row that TRU has defeated the perennial powerhouse Spartans.

UP NEXT

• The WolfPack will hope to complete the road sweep tomorrow when they do battle with the Spartans at 3:00 p.m. in Langley.