SPARTANS HOLD OFF WINNIPEG FOR 3-2 VICTORY

LANGLEY, B.C. – Another stellar performance from Henry Rempel (Swift Current, Sask.) led No. 4 Trinity Western in holding off Winnipeg to earn a 3-2 win at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday (25-19, 25-20, 20-25, 29-25, 15-13).

The Spartans (15-5) also got strong performances from Aaron Elser (Calgary) and Jesse Elser (Calgary), who combined for 24 kills. The Wesmen (6-12), were led by Liam Kristjanson, who earned a game-high of 19 kills in the match. Nigel Nielsen also threw down 17 kills in Winnipeg’s loss.
 
Mathias Elser (Calgary) also put together an impressive line of nine kills (.429 hitting percentage), 37 assists, an ace, and four blocks.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans played a tidy match in the first two sets, posting hitting percentages of .579 and .609 to take a 2-0 lead over the Wesmen.
 
Winnipeg rallied back in the third and fourth sets to tie the match up at 2-2.
 
TWU boomed at the beginning of the final set, eventually holding off another surge from the Wesmen to take a 15-13 win.
 
QUOTABLE
Adam Schriemer – TWU Head Coach
“I thought we had a good handle on our offensive plan early in the game. Throughotu the match our serving pressure started to break down, which let their offence ramp up. [Nigel] Nielsen came out swinging in the third set, and we couldn’t get a handle on him. Winnipeg puts pressure on us in so many ways, so I’m proud of our guys for grinding out the win. Winnipeg never gives up easy ones, so I’m happy the guys found their way through the ups and downs of the game.”
 
 

NOTABLE
• The Spartans are now 43-18 lifetime against the Wesmen.
• Rempel has 10 or more kills in each of his past seven matches.
• The Spartans were the more efficient team on Saturday, posting a team hitting percentage of .386. Winnipeg hit .320 as a team.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans are at home against Thompson Rivers (8-10) on Feb. 10-11.
 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women’s and men’s soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women’s rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men’s rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.
 
-TW-