This summer, fun, sun and sand met game, set and match when two WolfPack volleyball players brought home a new championship for TRU.
“ It was a win for TRU, not so much as just [the two of us], even though it was just us two there, like the WolfPack won this,” said WolfPack men’s volleyball teammate Rylan Ibbetson. At the end of August, Ibbetson and fellow teammate Walker Sodaro won the Volleyball Canada University and College Beach Nationals, a first in WolfPack history.
Throughout the tournament, the pair were a dominant team, completing the entire competition without dropping a set. The event featured 28 schools from across Canada, including TRU. The duo opened their pool with a win over Seneca College (21-12, 21-8), setting the tone of their tournament early. Following this win, Ibbetson and Sodaro went on to defeat Collège La Cité (21–4, 21–4) and SAIT (21–14, 21–12), earning them the top seed in their group.
Carrying their momentum into the knockout stage in the quarterfinals, the ‘Pack-mates made easy work of the University of the Fraser Valley (21-10, 21-11), utilizing a split-blocking strategy to conserve energy and disrupt opponents’ rhythm, a tactical shift that kept teams guessing who to serve to. The strategy, Sodaro told the Omega, “…hit another level once it came into crunch time.” In the semifinals, they faced the University of Guelph (21-16, 21-8), with another win securing their spot to compete for the national title.
The pair faced a tough opponent in Waterloo, who had pulled off multiple upsets in the tournament. However, the dynamic duo never wavered, playing with composure and intensity, fending off their opponents’ rallies with precision. A pivotal moment in the match came during the technical timeout, where Ibbetson and Sodaro reset and reminded themselves to stay calm under pressure.
“We just said to each other, ‘keep doing what we’re doing, don’t let the moment get to us,’” Ibbetson said. That composure carried them through the closing points.
When the final point dropped, the pair embraced, celebrating TRU’s first-ever national beach volleyball championship. “I just kind of smiled and ran over to him and gave him a hug,” Sodaro said. “We couldn’t stop smiling that entire night.” Ibbetson said the excitement carried on long into the night and even admitted to ‘randomly screaming’ out of pure joy.
The victory marked TRU’s first-ever national beach volleyball title; however, the pair noted that the win was bigger than the two of them.
“It wasn’t just us two,” Sodaro said. “The WolfPack won this. It took the whole school to get us there, with all the support we felt.”
Both players emphasized that they continuously received encouraging and supportive texts from teammates, coaches and other TRU athletes throughout the tournament, adding fuel to their run.
The partnership between Ibbetson and Sodaro dates back a long time. The pair both grew up together in Kelowna as family friends and have played volleyball together as long as they can remember. “We’ve been family friends, like best friends, since we were three years old,” Ibbetson said.
The longtime connection the two share shows up on the court.
“We just have a brother bond,” Ibbetson said. “I wanted to play the best I could for Walker, because I know how much he cared and wanted this. And I think it was the same, vice versa.”
While the pair has grown up playing volleyball everywhere they could, both stated that beach volleyball hadn’t become a main focus until the last few years, owing to the transition between the two types of volleyball, which require different skills and mindsets.
“In beach volleyball, you touch the ball every single time it’s on your side…When [there are] six guys on the court indoors, you don’t always touch it. On the sand, you have to be perfect every single time,” Sodaro said. “If I make a mistake, I know he’s going to be there right away to back me up. We almost know what each other’s thinking.”
Looking forward, both agreed that the championship had only added fuel to the hunger they both feel for the upcoming volleyball season. “I think for me, personally, it just made me [hungrier],” Ibbetson said. “We got that feeling of winning, and I don’t want to stop. We’ve got a really good group of guys this year, and I think we could do really well.”
Sodaro’s sentiments echoed those of his teammate.
“I want to accomplish something with the team this year, take it one step at a time, one year at a time…It’s probably the tightest group of guys I’ve had on the team since I’ve been here. I think we can actually make a run or accomplish something special.”