BRANDON, Man. – The Thompson Rivers WolfPack utilized the dynamic one-two punch that carried the team into last year's playoffs in the 2019-20 Canada West opener on Friday night in Brandon.
Reigning conference all-star Olga Savenchuk and fifth-year outside Kendra Finch paced the 'Pack in upsetting the Bobcats Homecoming festivities as the two put up some impressive performances en route to a 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-16, 25-18) win.
Finch led all scorers with 18 points while Savenchuk finished with nine kills and two blocks.
Finch was quick to give credit to the host Bobcats.
"We might have had a better first contact on some of the balls, but credit to Brandon. They're a scrappy team, they were covering everything and picking everything up so they sure made us work hard," says Finch.
Other stat leaders for the WolfPack were Anastasiia Muzyka (40 assists) and Kseniya Kocyigit (seven blocks) while Finch also finished with a team-high 17 digs.
Kier Fer led the Bobcats in her Brandon debut, putting up 15 kills. The fourth-year transfer from Memorial impressed in her debut, while fellow outside Rayvn Wiebe wasn't far behind with 12 kills on the night.
Jamie Bain had a team-high 38 assists while Caitlin Le had 22 digs on the night.
Bobcats coach Lee Carter was quick to give credit right back, noting that the WolfPack's experience proved to be the difference.
"They've added a lot of players that have played a ton of international volleyball and they were just able to stay in the moment," says Carter.
The two teams don't have long to reflect as they meet again in less than 24 hours.
"It's definitely a great way to start the season with some good competition and we're really excited for tomorrow night," Finch added.
The two teams meet again Saturday afternoon in Brandon. First serve is schedule for 5 pm.