KAMLOOPS, BC – The UBC Thunderbirds came close, but couldn't quite clinch the deal suffering a five-set loss Friday night at the hands of the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, their third straight defeat to start the season.
 
Both teams entered the WolfPack's home opener looking for their first win of the season and the 'Birds looked to be on the inside track to get that victory with a 2-1 lead heading into the fourth set. But a strong TRU rally capped off by a fifth set clincher forces the T-Birds to wait at least another day.
 
"We are making too many errors in certain situations," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "We could have been out of here 3-0 if we played a little better in the second set. Having said that, I give Thompson Rivers a ton of credit. They out-defended us for sure. They kept balls alive in the second half of the match. They are full value in the end."


 
The five set win for the home side (21-25, 25-23, 16-25, 25-21, 15-11) was thanks in large part to 30 year-old rookie Olga Savenchuk who led the WolfPack (1-2) with 11 kills. Second-year national team member Kiera Van Ryk led the way for UBC (0-3) with 15 kills along with seven digs.
 
The Thunderbirds jumped out to an early lead in the first set but TRU came back taking an 11-7 advantage at one point, causing UBC head coach Doug Reimer to call a time out. The WolfPack were first to 16 leading by two at the technical time out. The T-Birds were led by Van Ryk and transfer Tessa Davis with four kills each as UBC went on to beat the Pack in the first set, 25-21.
 
The second set was dominated by UBC. They jumped out to a five point lead and at 13-8, it was WolfPack head coach Chad Grimm's turn to call a time out. That spurred on the Pack as they closed the deficit to three (15-12). But the T-Birds took a 16-12 lead into the technical time out.
 
Kendra Finch of TRU came in and served up a pair of aces to cut the UBC lead to 19-18. Reimer called a time out to try and shake the Pack. But Finch came out of the break and dealt a third straight ace to tie the set at 19.  Then it was Avery Pottle's time to shine. Two key blocks at the net gave TRU a 23-22 advantage leading to the eventual 25-23 win.


 
UBC was strong from the service line all match. In the third set especially, their serving propelled them to a 7-1 advantage at one point, coasting to a 16-7 lead, rolling to a 25-16 victory. Davis had three kills to lead UBC in the set as did rookie Brynn Pasin.
 
In the fourth set, the teams traded points at the onset. The teams were deadlocked at seven when Hayley McNaught got the block to put TRU up by one. UBC, though, didn't waiver and picked up the next two points to take a 10-8 lead.  The 'Birds clawed back and tied the set at 14. But it was the Pack ahead 16-15 at the technical time out. TRU went onto tie up the match with a 25-21 victory.
 
The fifth set saw UBC jump to a 3-0 lead. The third point coming on a block by Jayde Robertsen. Two points by Pottle cut the deficit for TRU to 4-2.  Two defensive errors by UBC resulted in the WolfPack tying things at five before a service ace courtesy of Abby Spratt which hit the tape and went in, giving the WolfPack a 6-5 lead. Thompson Rivers took an 8-6 advantage into the break. With TRU up 10-6, UBC called a time out which worked as the Thunderbirds notched two straight points before Savenchuk stopped the bleeding with a kill.  Two straight blocks by Spratt on Van Ryk gave TRU a 14-11 advantage en route to the win.
 
The T-Birds will now focus on earning their first win of the season and a weekend split with the WolfPack Saturday night. First serve is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PT.