WOLFPACK WVB LOSE IN THREE STRAIGHT SETS TO ALTA
For Immediate Release: Nov 14, 2008
Kamloops BC—The University of Alberta Pandas showed why they are the only unbeaten team in the Canada West Women’s volleyball league. The Pandas rebounded from some early jitters to take the hometown Thompson Rivers University WolfPack in three straight sets. The scores were25-23, 25-15, 25-15.
“We knew we thought we would probably have a tough start,” said Pandas coach Laurie Eisler, now into her 17 th season at the helm at U of A. “ We haven’t played here and it took us a bit to get adjusted to it. It was nice to get that first set out of the way…and it was smoother sailing for sure.”
That first set saw Alberta jump to an early 6-3 lead before the WolfPack rebounded and tied it up at 11. At one point, TRU got points from Anna Dyakiewicz (2nd year, outside hitter, Burnaby, BC) and Michella Domo (2nd year, middle, New Westminster BC) to pull into a 19-19 tie before the Pandas pulled it out.
“ I think we are finding an identity as a team,” stated Eisler, who’s team moved to 5 and 0 on the season “ We have a couple of new players on the court…finding a system that’s working for them has been a challenge. This was a good test for us. I am really proud how they stood up in the first set…a lot of our buttons were being pushed. They stuck with it and found enough to finish it.”
Left side Jocelyn Blair (5 th year, St. Albert, Alta) led the way for the Pandas with 11 kills. Daryll Robert (5 th year, setter, St. Albert, Alta) had 33 assists. Tiffany Proudfoot (3rd year, Left Side, Calgary, Alta) had 8 digs.
TRU was led by Dyakiewicz who had eight kills. Setter Stine Christiansen (2nd year, Ribe, Denmark) had 11 assists. Lindsey Niminiken (4 th year, South Slocan, BC) had 10. Laura Plouffe (5 th year, libero, Sherwood Park, Alta) had 6 kills.
WolfPack Coach Cal Wohlford agreed that the first set was his teams best. “ We don’t keep our composure and don’t keep competitive and then we lose it. In the second set, we had a nice run there (going 4-0 with Alberta leading 20-8) but we couldn’t take it into the third set.”
The match was the first for Domo, who finished sitting out a year after playing last season in the NCAA for Canisius College in Upper New York State.
“She started off well,” said Wohlford “but unfortunately she tailed off.”
As for rebounding on Saturday (Nov 15), Wohlford had this to say: “ Everybody needs to step it up. We had too many errors tonite. We need discipline and come in with a competitive edge.”
SIDE OUTS: The WolfPack had Amanda Frayne (2nd year, outside hitter, Kamloops, BC) come in and play despite suffering from a strained knee ligament. The two teams play Saturday at 6 pm at the Tournament Capital Center.