VICTORIA - The University of Victoria women's rugby team defeated the University of Alberta, 55-14, Sept. 19 at Wallace Field.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Newsome opens scoring, Norsten strikes twice

• A Vikes scrum on the right side of the field resulted in a quick series of passes to Olivia Newsome over on the left side. Newsome touched the ball down for the try in the fifth minute, and with a convert by Vanessa Chiappetta, gave the Vikes a 7-0 lead.
• Back-to-back breakaway tries by Carissa Norsten in the 13th and 18th minutes added to the Vikes' lead. With a second Chiappetta convert, the Vikes held a 19-0 advantage near the halfway point of the first half.

Hill-Huse scores her first of the year

• In the 21st minute, a pack push from the Vikes allowed Chloe Hill-Huse to get the ball down right on the try line, securing her first score of the year. A Chiappetta convert added two points to bring the score to 26-0 in favour of the Vikes.

Addai scores twice to end first half scoring

• After a breakway one minute earlier nearly resulted in a try, Maya Addai officially got on the scoresheet in the 24th minute following a breakaway down the right sideline, giving UVic a 31-0 lead.
• In the 28th minute, the Vikes moved the ball from centre back out to the right side, finding Addai once again who ran it in-goal for the try, boosting Victoria's lead to 36-0.

Morrison scores in debut

• In her debut game for the Vikes, Taylor Morrison opened the second half scoring, driving over the pile near the try line to get the ball down for her first career try. Adding a convert by Kira Peary, the Vikes took a 43-0 lead in the 51st minute.

Vikes respond to Pandas' score

• Though the Pandas scored in the 60th minute, the Vikes were quick to respond. Newsome opened the scoring opportunity for the Vikes, breaking away to run the ball down to just outside the try line. After being tackled, Remee Brown finished the job, getting the ball over the line for her first try of the season. A successful convert by Hadley MacPherson gave the Vikes a 50-7 lead in the 64th minute.

Wiebe scores first career try to close scoring

• After seven more Pandas points following a score in the 68th minute, Macy Wiebe gave the Vikes the final points of the night, pushing through oncoming Alberta defenders to get the ball over the line in the 75th minute to not only record her first career 15s try, but also seal the Vikes' win at 55-14.

FROM THE FIELD - Kira Peary & Olivia Newsome
On the game:
Newsome: "We had a lot of new debuts today which was super exciting. We're just trying to get the basics down as we build towards Canada West playoffs and the national championships, and continued to work on those throughout the game. It's exciting to see a new group out on the field. A lot of 'work-ons' for next game, but also a lot of positives to take away, and excited to have our final home game against Calgary next week."

Peary: "It's exciting that we're continuing to build. There's still a lot of pieces to add, but it's really exciting that we have so much depth in our squad and that we can just pull new people in and the quality of rugby doesn't drop off. There's lots of opportunities for us here."

On having debut players making an immediate impact: 
Newsome: "It's nice to have new people on the team that come out and bring it. You never know what's going to happen in a rugby game, so it's nice to have younger or new players build up that in-game experience. We have a team of 25 on the field but a team of 48 off the field, and every single person puts in a lot of work. It's rewarding to see people debut and get on the field with all of us."

On her Canada West Player of the Week honour after missing the 2023 season due to injury:
"It feels pretty unreal, I have to say. Obviously, that's not something that was going through my head while I was going through all of my recovery for my ACL. It was a really long comeback, but there was a lot of work that went in behind the scenes and I'm grateful for all my coaches, athletic trainers, physios, and everybody that was able to help me get back to this point. And of course my teammates, they were huge in helping me get back to where I am. I wouldn't be able to do it without them. It feels great, and I'm very grateful."

WORTH NOTING

• Macy Wiebe, Remee Brown and Taylor Morrison all scored the first try of their Vikes careers in the win, while Chloe Hill-Huse recorded her first try of the season.
• Maya Addai has scored at least two tries in each of the first two games she's played for the Vikes so far this season.
• Vanessa Chiappetta tallied six points from the converts, while Kira Peary and Hadley MacPherson each added two points from successful converts.
• The Vikes have outscored their opponents 131-36 through three matches in 2024.
• Victoria improves to 3-0 on the year with the win, while the Pandas fall even at 2-2 following the loss.

UP NEXT
The Vikes host the University of Calgary Sunday, Sept. 29 at Wallace Field at 1 p.m. Get your tickets here or catch the game on Canada West TV.