By: Grace Knapp 
Freelance Writer

The young WOU volleyball team faced Simon Frasier University on Saturday, Nov. 7, 2015.

Battling for every point, the 7-18 Wolves eventually succumbed to the 12-12 Clan after four hotly contested sets. The set scores were 26-24, 25-23, 25-15, and 25-22.

In the opening set, the score difference between the teams never exceeded three points, and the Wolves secured four aces.

However, this wasn’t enough to win the set, and WOU fell to SFU 26-24.

Motivated by the close set, the Wolves rallied their efforts in the second. Although the Clan took an early lead of 20-15, the pack overtook the five point deficit and tied the score 22-22, eventually winning the set with a kill by Sydney Blankinship (MB).

Western quickly fell behind, leading to a disappointing set loss of 25-15. Fighting to stay in the game, WOU secured an early lead of 15-20 in the final set, but ultimately fell to SFU 25-22.

Head coach Brad Saindon feels like the close battle with SFU shows the true potential of the Wolves.

“Our team continues to improve daily. We put ourselves in position to win regularly, and I believe if we continue to work and stay on course that the wins will start coming,” Saindon said. “We are so close, and our games show that.”

A strong contributor to the team’s potential is junior Christie Colasurdo (L) who leads the GNAC in digs, and is currently ranked fourth in the nation in digs per set.

Colasurdo does everything she can to help her team on defense in the hope that they can finish out the season with some wins.

Next up, the Wolves face Montana State-Billings at home on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2015. For tickets and game information, visit the ticket office during regular business hours in the New P.E. Building, or call 503-838–8917.

Update: On Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015 the Wolves lost in three sets to Concordia University at home. The set scores were 25-23, 26-24 and 25-21.