Spartans Men’s Volleyball ADVANCE TO 9th CONSECUTIVE CONFERENCE FINAL WITH WIN OVER BRANDON
LANGLEY – The Spartans national championship defence inched one step closer after Trinity Western picked up a thrilling 3-1 victory over Brandon in Game 3 of the Canada West semifinals Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
The win, which advances TWU to the conference championship game at home next Saturday (8:30 p.m. PT), also clinches the defending national champion Spartans a spot at the U SPORTS championships for the 11th consecutive season.
TWU recorded 18 service aces as a team in the match, the most in program history over four-sets and second most in a single game in program history. Eric Loeppky (Steinbach, Man.) and Derek Epp (Saskatoon, Sask.) led the way with five aces apiece, tying for seventh-most in a four-set match.
Loeppky contributed game-highs for kills (14) and service aces (5), while Jacob Kern (Edmonton) hit .429 and added 12 kills for TWU (20-2, 4-1).
Elliott Viles was again a major part on offence for Brandon (13-9, 3-2), as the fourth-year chipped in with 13 kills, four digs and .258 hitting. Robin Baghdady had seven kills, with Reece Dixon adding a team-high five digs.
After an early 5-5 tie in the first set, the Spartans went on an 8-1 run to take a commanding 13-6 first set lead. The Spartans then took a nine-point lead off a Kern kill to make it 18-9, before maintaining their lead the rest of the way to win the first set 25-17. Kern picked up five kills for TWU, matching his match totals from Friday’s game in four fewer sets.
Despite Brandon taking the first point of the second set off a Mason Metcalf kill, TWU would take the next five points to force the Bobcats a timeout. The Spartans then took a 12-4 lead after back-to-back aces from Loeppky. A Loeppky kill then sealed the second set once again at 25-17 in TWU’s favour.
After the Spartans jumped out to 6-2 lead in the third set, the Bobcats would tie it back up before overtaking TWU with a 9-7 lead. The Spartans would counter to take a 15-12 lead, but Brandon would outscore the Spartans 13-7 the rest of the way to win its first set of the game.
The fourth set was an even affair to begin with until TWU took charge, as the Spartans would score eight consecutive points highlighted by a Howe service ace to take a commanding 17-9 lead. Two service aces from Derek Epp (Saskatoon, Sask.) then gave the Spartans a 20-10 lead, before a Dixon error sealed the four-set Spartans victory.
Spartans Women’s Volleyball SWEEP THOMPSON RIVERS TO ADVANCE TO CONFERENCE FINAL
LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western will once again play in the conference championship, after defeating Thompson Rivers 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-23) in Game 3 of the Canada West Semifinals Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
After falling 3-2 in Game 1 Thursday, the Spartans won six consecutive sets and eight of nine to advance to the gold medal game next Saturday (Mar. 7). The program will look to defend last years’ championship and earn a conference title for the fourth time in six seasons.
The win also qualified the Spartans for the 2020 U SPORTS championships next month in Calgary.
Ansah Odoom (Surrey, B.C.) picked up seven kills and two aces for TWU (22-2, 4-1), while Hilary Howe (Calgary) followed up Friday’s 11-kill performance with another 13 kills and two aces, hitting .355. Emma Gamache (Langley) contributed a game high 13 digs for the Spartans.
Kendra Finch had eight kills, two aces and seven digs for the Wolfpack, while Olga Savenchuk chipped in with nine kills and four digs.
The Spartans scored six unanswered points early in the first set to take a 7-2 lead. The Spartans would then lead the rest of the set, as a pair of Odoom kills sealed the first in favour of TWU at 25-13. Howe paced the Spartans by hitting .500 with six kills.
After Thompson Rivers jumped out to a 3-2 lead in the second set, the Spartans countered on a 7-0 run to make it 9-3. TWU continued building on its lead throughout the set, edging out the Wolfpack 16-15 for the remainder of the set to win it 25-18.
TWU took a 9-6 lead in the third set, but Thompson Rivers scored five-straight to jump back into the match. A pair of service aces from Odoom then gave the home side a late 20-18 lead, before Thompson Rivers again tied it up at 23-23. After a Wolfpack service error, TWU secured the victory off a Howe kill.
TWU had 6.0 total team blocks in the match, while the Wolfpack had 7.0.
Spartans Rugby finish 3rd in pool play on day 1 in victoria
VICTORIA – Trinity Western’s women’s rugby sevens team earned one win from three outings on Day 1 at the third and final stop on the Canada West Rugby 7s Series Saturday at Wallace Field.
After losses to UBC (46-0) and Alberta (34-0), the Spartans capped the day with an emphatic win over Fraser Valley, knocking off their local rivals 33-7.
Issy Scholtens (Langley, B.C.) and Michelle Veerman Quezada (White Rock, B.C.) each scored twice for the Spartans, while Ashley Jacob (South Surrey, B.C.) dotted down once in TWU’s win over the Cascades.
Tausani Levale (Abbotsford, B.C.) converted four of the Spartans five tries.
TWU finished third in its pool and will take on UBC Okanagan in the consolation semifinals Sunday at 10:52 a.m. at Wallace Field.
WATCH DAY 2 LIVE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMlJQP6UNrs
UBC 46 TWU 0
The Spartans took on UBC for the first time in program history, but it was the Thunderbirds getting the best of TWU, running in eight tries to get the win. Both Jessica Bosma (Hamilton, Ont.) and Sammy Stokes (Kappa, Hawaii) played in their first-ever game with the Spartans.
Alberta 34 TWU 0
The Pandas tallied four first-half tries and then added two more in the second half while holding the Spartans off the scoreboard. Levale was a highlight for the Spartans breaking numerous tackles throughout the contest.
TWU 33 UFV 7
The Spartans improved to 3-0 all-time against the Cascades, with TWU putting together a series of well-executed passes and support lines to run in five tries. Beyond the Spartans try-scorers, TWU’s Sammi Thiessen (Abbotsford, B.C.) was key in stealing a number of balls at the breakdown to create opportunities for the Spartans.
UP NEXT
Sunday, March 1
Morning session
Consolation Semifinals
10:30 a.m. – UFV vs. Lethbridge
10:52 a.m. – TWU vs. UBC Okanagan
Semifinals
11:14 a.m. – Victoria vs. Alberta
11:36 a.m. – UBC vs. Calgary
Afternoon session
1 p.m. – 7th-place game
1:22 p.m. – 5th-place game
1:44 p.m. – Bronze game
2:06 p.m. – Final
DAY 1 – TWU RESULTS
Game 1
Trinity Western Spartans (0) vs UBC Thunderbirds (46)
1 2 T
TWU 0 0 0
UBC 27 19 46
Scoring summary:
UBC Try – #8 Hunter Czeppel (#5 Shoshanah Seumanutafa convert missed) UBC 5-0
UBC Try – #6 Madison Gold (#5 Shoshanah Seumanutafa convert missed) UBC 10-0
UBC Try – #6 Madison Gold (#5 Shoshanah Seumanutafa convert) 17-0
UBC Try – #5 Shoshanah Seumanutafa (#5 Shoshanah Seumanutafa convert missed) UBC 22-0
UBC Try – #1 Emily Baker (#5 Shoshanah Seumanutafa convert missed) UBC 27-0
HALF
UBC Try – #4 Alayna Scramstad (#5 Shoshanah Seumanutafa convert missed) UBC 32-0
UBC Try – #2 Rachel Smith (#10 Jordan McLeod convert) UBC 39-0
UBC Try – #7 Kally King (#10 Jordan McLeod convert) UBC 46-0
Game 6
Trinity Western Spartans (0) vs Alberta Pandas (34)
1 2 T
TWU 0 0 0
ALB 22 12 34
Scoring summary:
ALB Try – #8 Courtney Holtkamp (#14 Heidi Peake convert missed) ALB 5-0
ALB Try – #8 Courtney Holtkamp (#14 Heidi Peake convert missed) ALB 10-0
ALB Try – #14 Heidi Peake (#14 Heidi Peake convert missed) ALB 15-0
ALB Try – #6 Savannah Dubien (#14 Heidi Peake convert) ALB 22-0
HALF
ALB Try – #6 Savannah Dubien (#14 Heidi Peake convert) ALB 29-0
ALB Try – #2 Izzy McGowan (#14 Heidi Peake convert missed) ALB 34-0
Game 9
Fraser Valley Cascades (7) vs Trinity Western Spartans (33)
1 2 T
UFV 0 7 7
TWU 14 19 33
Scoring summary:
TWU Try – #4 Ashley Jacob (#5 Tausani Levale convert) TWU 7-0
TWU Try – #7 Isabelle Scholtens (#5 Tausani Levale convert) TWU 14-0
HALF
TWU Try – #3 Michelle Veerman Quezada (#5 Tausani Levale convert) TWU 21-0
UFV Try – #14 Kira Katan (#0 Cheye Gustafson convert) TWU 21-7
TWU Try – #7 Isabelle Scholtens (#5 Tausani Levale convert) TWU 28-7
TWU Try – #3 Michelle Veerman Quezada (#5 Tausani Levale convert missed) TWU 33-7
