The Wesmen women’s volleyball team hosted the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds last weekend and was defeated in four sets both Friday and Saturday night (Nov. 12-13). 

On Friday night, head coach Diane Scott was pleased with how her team started the match.

“We came out of the gate very strong and balanced,” she said. “We played that way right up to the second technical of set two.”

At the first technical timeout, the Wesmen were ahead 8-7, and were led by captain Alix Krahn’s strong defence. Kills from Carleen Kruschel and Lauren Sears played well for the Wesmen and they kept the lead.

They were ahead until UBC tied the set at 23-23. Two unanswered kills from Winnipeg’s Jessica von Schilling and Kristine Johnson finished off UBC for the first set.

UBC came out stronger in the second and third sets. Though Winnipeg kept the scores close, the Thunderbirds led for most of both sets.

Reflecting on the turnaround, Scott recognized the attempted comeback by her team but knew it wasn’t enough to earn the win.

“There didn’t seem to be an urgency in regaining our game plan until late in the fourth,” she said. “Once again, the momentum shifted and we were playing like a team, but too deep to get back.”

On Saturday night, UBC defeated the Wesmen again, 3-1. However, despite the loss, Scott said that the team made important improvements over the weekend. 

Middle-blocker Sears also reflected positively on the team’s improvements last weekend.

“UBC played consistently throughout both matches,” she said. “But it was our unforced errors that cost us. I’m looking forward to next weekend – since our team is always improving, we’ll be better even by Friday.

The Wesmen were led by Sears, Sonia Rossy and Carleen Kruschel who had 11, 15 and 13 kills, respectively. Additionally, Rossy, along with Brittany Habing and Mackenzie Jeffrey, added 11 digs, while Sears had three blocks in the night. 

Next weekend, the Wesmen host the Saskatchewan Huskies at 6 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 19 and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 20.

Published in Volume 65, Number 12 of The Uniter (November 18, 2010)