Image Credit: TRU WolfPack

By Victor Kaisar

WolfPack Volleyball Recap

WolfPack men bow out after defeat to Brandon; women gearing up to face UBC in playoffs

Feb 16, 2025 | 10:00 AM

KAMLOOPS — It was heartbreak for the TRU WolfPack men’s volleyball team Saturday (Feb. 15) night as they lost a must-win game 3-1 (19-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-15) to the Brandon Bobcats.

The WolfPack needed a win – and loss by the Fraser Valley Cascades – to clinch a berth in Canada West playoffs. Saturday’s game started well as the WolfPack took the opening set, but the Bobcats rallied to win the next three.

While the Cascades lost, the TRU defeat meant the WolfPack finished the season in 11th place with a 6-14 record. The top-ten teams earned a playoff berth.

As they have all season, Sam Flowerday, Rylan Ibbetson and Matthew Hamilton were key for the WolfPack with 14, 13, and 10 kills respectively. Middles Jakob Leinemann and Mason Sodaro both added six kills for TRU.

Saturday’s game was the final for graduating seniors Sam Flowerday and Matthew Hamilton, who were honoured after Friday’s game at the TCC.

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The WolfPack women’s volleyball still has plenty to play for, after the completed the weekend sweep over Brandon with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-18) win in their regular season finale.

“It was a good game,” Head Coach Chad Grimm said. “We had a different lineup to give some players the night off and everyone that came in contributed and did their job. And that ultimately led to the result.”

Rida Erlalelitepe led the way for the WolfPack with a game-high 12 kills to go along with seven digs and pair of serving aces. Keira Gent tallied six kills, three digs, and a pair of service aces while Hailey Ward added five kills and two solo blocks.

Kate Lamothe and Hadley Schmidt also added a pair of aces each with Schmidt also tallied 25 assists for the WolfPack, who went into the weekend ranked tenth in the nation.

The 13-7 WolfPack squad will have a bye next weekend as they finished in fifth place in Canada West. They’ll face the UBC Thunderbirds in quarterfinal action Feb. 27 to March 2.

“It’s going to start with some rest and recovery and the chance to catch up some schoolwork,” Grimm said about the team’s plan to prepare for playoffs.

“We’ll start gearing up for UBC. Obviously the last year in the playoffs and this season in the league wasn’t a great experience so we’ll have to prepare to put on a good showing and play like we know we can and let the chips fall where they may.”

With 13 wins on the season, the WolfPack women tied the record more second-most in program history. Nine of their wins came at the TCC, where they finished 9-1.

WolfPack Basketball Update

Meanwhile, the WolfPack men’s basketball team now know who they will face in a Canada West playoff play-in game next Friday, Feb. 21.

The 10-10 WolfPack, who were idle this weekend, will be seeded seventh as they finished fourth in the Pacific Division. They’ll face the Alberta Golden Bears in a single elimination playoff game. The Bears are seeded 10th after their finished fifth in the Prairie Division.

That game will be played at the University of Manitoba, with the winner advancing to face the second-seeded Bisons in the quarterfinals on Feb. 22.