The Women’s volleyball team closed out a weekend at home, sweeping the reigning national champs of the University of Manitoba Bisons without dropping a single set over the weekend. With the wins, the WolfPack also set a program record by going 10-2 for the first time, heading into their winter break sitting at the top of the conference.
On Friday, the ‘Pack took a quick lead in the first set with a 10-3 run, which saw four kills and an ace from Rita Eralelitepe. They quickly took a 21-12 lead in the match, but the Bisons weren’t giving up that easily; eventually forcing their way back into the game to tie the score at 21-21. The WolfPack, however, would not be deterred and responded with a composed four-point push to take the set 25–21.
Carrying on to the second set, Hail Ward earned four kills to set the pace for the ‘Pack. The women would press their advantage, holding the Bisons to a negative hitting percentage, resulting in a 25-11 set win. In the third, after taking an 8-7 lead, the ‘Pack forced the Bisons into taking a timeout following a kill and an ace back-to-back from Erlalelitepe. Throughout, the ‘Pack prevented the Bisons from having a chance to get within two points of them for the rest of the night. A bookended block from Libby Meldrum and Maria Dancheva secured the point that sent the WolfPack to victory.
It was an all-around team effort on Friday that locked in the WolfPack’s win. Keira Gent led the way with 12 kills while hitting .375 percent. Erlalelitepe added nine more, as well as a trio of aces. Ward finished with eight kills, while Meldrum racked up 35 assists, three aces, three blocks and seven digs.
On Saturday night, the ‘Pack sought to continue its win streak. Riding on momentum from the previous match, the women took an early lead and dominated the first set. They held the Bisons to just four kills and ended up scoring seven of the last eight points, taking the set 25-10. In the second set, the Bisons kept the score close until the ‘Pack pulled away after leading 17-14 to win the set 25-16 after an eight-point run. In the third, the ‘Pack made easy work of the Bisons to secure the final set win and sweep of the weekend.
Once again, it was an incredibly balanced attack for the ‘Pack. Gent led the night with 13 kills, Dancheva had 11 on just 15 attacks in the night and Rida Eralelitepe contributed nine kills along with a trio of aces. Hail Ward put down eight kills, with Myah Cressy adding six. Setter Libby Meldrum finished with 42 assists, just one shy of cracking the Canada West all-time top 10 for a three-set match.
“We have enough weapons to keep teams off balance if we are passing the ball well, and we can block and defend at a high level when we have the other team off the net – both those things came to fruition today, and it made for a good night for us,” Head coach Chad Grimm said of the team’s depth and execution during the game.
With the two wins, the WolfPack moved to sit on top of their conference with a 10-2 record before heading into the break. It also marks the team’s sixth straight win. The WolfPack will be back in action Jan. 9-10 when they travel to Langley to face the TWU Spartans.