The TRU WolfPack women's volleyball team is hoping its Canada West season can go ahead (Image Credit: Michelle Pottie / TRU Athletics)

By Chad Klassen

TRU WOLFPACK

TRU women’s volleyball returns to full practice, waiting for Oct. 8 Canada West decision

Sep 23, 2020 | 2:41 PM

KAMLOOPS — The TRU women’s volleyball team is back on the court practicing again as a team.

“It’s been great,” said fifth-year outside hitter Gabriela Podolski. “Before Monday, we were just doing small practices with groups of six, then starting this Monday we got into full team practices, which is pretty awesome.”

Fifth-year libero Hali Drazet added: “It’s nice. Monday was pretty awesome doing six vs. six.”

But the WolfPack are training underneath a dark cloud of uncertainty. The season was initially postponed to January, and now the women and head coach Chad Grimm have to wait until Oct. 8 when Canada West will decide on the next course of action — keeping the season alive or cancelling it altogether.

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“I think I know what’s going to happen. I don’t think they can make a ‘yes’ decision on Oct. 8. I think the only thing they can do definitively is say ‘no,'” said Grimm at practice on Wednesday. “This is obviously such a fluid situation. Things can change easily. We’ve talked about it as a team and I’ve said, ‘hey the chances I think of us having a Canada West championship or a national championship are really low.”

The players have been thinking about the decision a lot.

“It’s definitely been on my mind, definitely stressed about it. I for sure want a season,” said Podolski. “It would be pretty heartbreaking if we didn’t have a season, so just fingers crossed.”

Drazet added: “It would suck, and it would suck never knowing if we would’ve gone to nationals, especially with it being my last year. I’ll never know if we would, so that’s definitely disappointing, but we can use this year as a building year.”

If the season is officially shut down, it would be a disappointment for the eight seniors on the team. The WolfPack had been building up to this season to make a long run in the playoffs.

“Yeah there’s not any reason we shouldn’t,” said Grimm if the season proceeds. “We showed last year we can compete with everybody and everyone’s back [except Kendra Finch]. This is a pretty mature group and they’ve put in the work. They’re ready to go.”

TRU is preparing as if there will be a season. The plan is to keep practicing and eventually play exhibition games against regional opponents, namely UBC Okanagan.