Former WolfPack volleyball player, Iuliia Pakhomenko, has been inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame.
The Canada West Hall of Fame highlights the best in university sports across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. It was established in the spring of 2019 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the creation of the first Western-based post-secondary athletic organization in Canada, The Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Union. Each year, they select teams, individual athletes, coaches, and administrators who have contributed significantly to university sport and the community. Canada West staff members are responsible for nominating and voting for new inductees. In Jan. 2026, the Hall of Fame announced eight new inductions.
Chad Grimm, Pakhomenko’s former coach at TRU, informed her of her induction. According to Pakhomenko, the news was unexpected, as she had not played for the WolfPack since 2017. “When he told me, I was obviously very surprised, but I’m very honoured and glad that I can be a part of this program and that I can still put the word out there about our university and team,” she said.
Pakhomenko joined the WolfPack in 2014 while completing a Master of Business Administration. Prior to her arrival, the women’s volleyball team had gone two consecutive seasons without winning a match. The 2014-15 season saw a drastic change for the ‘Pack, as they earned ten wins. During her rookie season, Pakhomenko was a top scorer, ranking second in Canada West with 405 kills and averaging 4.6 kills per set. That year, she earned the Canada West First Team All-Star Award.
During her second year, in the 2015-16 season, the ‘Pack finished sixth in the conference standings with a 12-12 record and a spot in the playoffs. Pakhomenko led the country with 425 kills and 4.67 per set. She was only the second athlete in Canada West history to achieve this in a single season. For her contributions that season, she was awarded Canada West First Team All-Star, Canada West Player of the Year, Canadian Interuniversity Sport First Team All-Canadian and CIS Player of the Year. She was also named Canada West Female Athlete of the Year, and is the only WolfPack athlete to have achieved the award across all conference sports. Finally, Pakhomenko was nominated for the Borden Lander Gervais Award, now the Lois and Doug Mitchell U SPORTS Athlete of the Year Award. Established in 1993, it honours the top university athletes and promotes graduate studies by awarding the winners a $10,000 scholarship. The nomination ranked her among the top four female student-athletes in Canada. She remains the only TRU athlete to be nominated.
During the 2016-17 season, and Pakhomenko’s final year at TRU, the ‘Pack finished with a 13-11 record and another spot in the postseason. Once again, she led the conference with 381 kills and 4.65 per set. That year, she became a three-time Canada West First Team All-Star. The Canada West Hall of Fame claims she is “one of the most impactful student-athletes to ever don a WolfPack uniform.”
Those who have met Pakhomenko know that her success is largely attributed to her mindset and dedication. “I just think her ability to work was unmatched. She put in the most work, and she never made excuses. She just approached it very businesslike,” Grimm said about what set her apart from other players. Joining the ‘Pack after back-to-back disappointing seasons, she helped set the precedent for the rest of the team.
“At that time in our program, it was kind of struggling, and she started to set that standard of approaching it with a higher level of professionalism,” Grimm said.
Since graduating from TRU, Pakhomenko has stayed close to the sport, now working alongside Grimm as assistant coach of the WolfPack’s women’s volleyball team. Although the transition from player to coach was slow, she found that her shared experience with the team of playing women’s collegiate volleyball was her biggest asset.
“When I accepted Chad’s proposal to be assistant coach, for me, it was important to find a way for them to communicate better and to find that transition between the head coach and the girls. I can be the middle point to help them have a better understanding of what coaches are trying to get from them and why they are doing what they are doing,” she shared.
In 2025, she founded Ulavolley Academy, where she coaches youth volleyball for kids in grades four through seven. “Unfortunately, in our community, there’s nothing for kids younger than grade eight in volleyball. I thought it would be a great idea to start them young, to teach them how to have fun and learn correct and basic volleyball skills that will help them grow,” she said. Through coaching, she tries to instill her dedicated mindset in the next generation of players.
“If someone told you that you’re not talented or you’re not meant to be a player or part of a team, you should know that hard work, consistency and discipline always beat talent. No matter how talented you are, if you don’t have that proper work ethic and goal in front of you that you want to reach, talent will not help you,” she said.