Image Credit: Archie Golding/LeftRight Media via TRU WolfPack)

By Victor Kaisar

Canada West Volleyball

WolfPack women rally to victory, men falter against powerhouse UBC Thunderbirds

Nov 8, 2025 | 9:52 AM

KAMLOOPS — The TRU women’s volleyball team shook off a horrific start to beat one of the top teams in the nation in Canada West action at the TCC Friday (Nov. 7) night.

The WolfPack dropped the first set 25-7 but stormed back to beat the UBC Thunderbirds 3-1 (7-25, 25-15, 25-18, 25-12). It’s the first win over UBC since 2022, and head coach Chad Grimm’s 100th win in Canada West.

“I can’t recall seeing of a comeback like that from our first set, maybe Muhammad Ali in the Rumble in the Jungle,” Grimm said post-game. “Our first contact got way better, obviously that was not good in the first set and then defensively I thought we became a tough team to score on.”

“We did a much better job with tips and rolls so we weren’t letting them score easily, so defensively I thought we did a good job.”

Rida Erlalelitepe led the WolfPack with 14 kills, while Keira Gent finished with 11 kills and 10 digs. Libby Meldrum recorded 31 assists as well as a pair of service aces and a pair of blocks while Olivia Andulajevic recorded 15 digs.

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The 4-1 WolfPack women are tied with Alberta for second place in Canada West, while UBC – ranked second in Canada -is 3-2.

The WolfPack men couldn’t make it a clean sweep against the UBC Thunderbirds s they lost to the top team in the nation 3-0 (25-11, 25-19, 25-14) at the TCC.

Daniel Hitchens led the way for the WolfPack with eight kills and a trio of blocks. Jakob Leinemann had three kills on six swings as well as a pair of blocks, while libero Brandon Johnson had 11 digs.

“We did everything we weren’t supposed to do,” head coach Pat Hennelly said. “We were tentative, really stagnant on defence and not going after it on the service line. We were playing a veteran, No. 1 team in the country and credit to UBC, they had a game plan and executed, they stayed very controlled and we never responded.”

The WolfPack and Thunderbirds will rematch at the TCC Saturday (Nov. 8) evening, with the women’s game scheduled for 3:00 p.m. followed by the men at 4:45 p.m.