WOLFPACK WOMEN DROP BOTH ENDS OF SERIES IN MANITOBA

For immediate Release: Nov 1, 2008

Winnipeg—Winnipeg Manitoba is a very inhospitable place in November some times.  The Thompson Rivers University WolfPack Women’s Volleyball team found it out first hand this weekend.  But it had nothing to do with the weather.

For the second night in a row, the WolfPack Women went down to the host University of Manitoba Bisons in straight sets.  This time, the scores were (21-25,19-25, 24-26).

“We played a lot better today,” said WolfPack head coach Cal Wohlford.   “We controlled more of the match.  We simply coughed it up in the end. “ 

Each set was closely contested, but the Bisons were in control for most of the match until the third set, when the WolfPack opened up a five-point lead and would've won if not for a big Manitoba comeback.

“We owned that third set, “explained Wohlford.  “ But some unforced errors cost us. We are still playing ‘young.”

"We won't always be ahead," said Bison coach Ken Bentley, "They played well overall, but I'm happy with how we played. We passed well and got some timely side outs in the final set."

The teams traded points for most of the first set until Bison captain Sarah Morrissette shifted momentum with her kill from behind the attack line to put the Bisons ahead 18-17. The Bisons then went on to stretch their lead to 22-19. The WolfPack called two timeouts during the streak, but it wasn't enough as their nine total errors allowed the Bisons to come away with a 25-21 win.

The Bisons kept scoring early in the second set and opened up an early 12-6 lead. Manitoba let their lead slip a bit halfway through the set. The WolfPack got the game to within two points, but they couldn't close the gap completely as the Bisons held on to take the game 25-19. Bison middle Tricia Mayba put an emphatic end to the frame with a kill, one of six on the night
for her.

The third set brought the crowd to life when Manitoba, down by as many as five points at various times throughout the game, mounted a comeback. With the match at 16-11, the Bisons turned things around and tied the game 18.
The teams went back and forth after that and Thompson Rivers had a set point at 24-23 but in the end, the Bisons held on for a 26-24 win.

Outside hitter Amanda Frayne  (2nd year, Kamloops, BC) led the WolfPack with 14 kills and six digs in the losing effort. Also of note for the Pack, Danielle Bercelli (4 th year, outside hitter, Jundiai, Brazil) had 10 kills and Richelle Walton (5th year, outside hitter, Langley, BC)  had seven kills and five digs.

“There were some things that we did well in the match,” recounted Wohlford.  “We were way more disciplined in our approach compared to Friday.  We cut our unforced errors in half,  we passed better and ran up some scoring runs and we gave up less points.”

Thompson Rivers (1-3) will be hosting UBC on November 7-8 while the Bisons (4-0) will be in Brandon next weekend to take on the Bobcats who haven't beaten Manitoba in Canada West conference action in two years.

(with help from the U of Manitoba)