TRU WolfPack players following the conclusion of their U SPORTS quarterfinal game against Sherbrooke. (Image Credit: U SPORTS/Contributed)

By Victor Kaisar

U SPORTS Volleyball

WolfPack fall to Sherbrooke in five sets at women’s volleyball nationals

Mar 13, 2026 | 3:11 PM

LANGLEY, B.C. — A heartbreaking loss for the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) WolfPack women’s volleyball team at nationals.

Up 8-2 in the final set, the seventh-seeded WolfPack lost 3-2 (25-20, 19-25, 25-23, 27-29, 15-13) to the second-seeded Sherbrooke Vert et Or from Quebec in the tournament’s opening game at the Langley Events Centre Friday (March 13).

“We ran out to a pretty good lead there in the fifth and then started to maybe think a little bit too much about what may be,” WolfPack head coach Chad Grimm said. “That’s the key lesson, like ‘hey, in those moments how do I manage those emotions and how can I return to my baseline of skills and do what I’ve trained to do for a lot of years?”

WolfPack outside hitter Rida Erlalelitepe led all players with 20 kills, while Maria Dancheva had 18 to go with six blocks and a pair of service aces. Libby Meldrum – who led all U SPORTS players in the the regular season – tallied a game- and season-high with 50 assists, while newly-minted Canada West libero of the year, Olivia Andulajevic, added a season-high 24 digs.

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Removing bathroom doors at Barriere Secondary increases safety concerns

Apr 02, 2026

Looped In

LOOPED IN WITH NIKKI OMEN: April 2, 2026

Apr 02, 2026

SOUND OFF

SOUND OFF: Kamloops deserves the full story

Apr 01, 2026

Béatrice Dubreuil added 18 kills and two aces for Sherbrooke with Gabrielle Minier’s 14 kills not that far behind. Britanie Maranda chipped in 10 kills and Jael-Esther Telfort added 11. Setter Elle-Marie Fillion orchestrated the offence with 44 assists.

“I thought they battled,” Grimm added Friday. “I think sometimes in key moments our execution and discipline wasn’t there. I think its hard when you haven’t been in an environment like this but we gave ourselves a chance but unfortunately we couldn’t close it.”

Trailing two sets to one after dropping the first and third, the WolfPack battled and eventually won the fourth set 29-27 after Sherbrooke fought off four set points. Sherbrooke also fought back from a six point deficit in the fifth set to lead 10-9. With the scores tied at 13-13, they scored the final two points of the match.

The WolfPack have at least one more game to go in Langley as they’ve dropped to the consolation side of the bracket. They’ll face the sixth-seed Atlantic Champion Saint Mary’s Huskies in a consolation semifinal at 12:00 p.m. Saturday. The winner will play for 5th place at 12:00 p.m. Sunday.

“It’s tough to look at tomorrow after a matchup like that, but I think the point is that if we want to be in this situation again, we need to take some lessons from this tournament,” Grimm said. “So, the more opportunities we have to compete, the better it is for our group.”

You can find the entire tournament schedule here.