LANGLEY, British Columbia – Led by fourth-year outside Henry Rempel’s (Swift Current, Sask.) 21 kills, six digs, and a .462 hitting percentage the Trinity Western Spartans defeated the UBC Okanagan Heat 3-1 at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The 18-25, 25-20, 27-25, 25-21 win moves the Spartans to .500 at 3-3, while the loss drops the Heat to 1-5.
First-year outside Piers De Greeff (Victoria, B.C.) with 10 digs, eight kills, and two aces, and third-year setter Anselm Rein (Erfurt, Germany) with 40 set assists, four kills, and three blocks also had a strong night for the Spartans. Renn Petryk with 16 kills, and Seba Manuel with 13 kills led the Heat. With Zach van Geel finished with 41 set assists running the UBC Okanagan offence.
AS IT HAPPENED
The opening set was even early, with UBC Okanagan up 7-6. The serving of UBC-O’s Thys Weststrate helped the Heat go on a 9-4 run and take a 16-10 lead midway through the set. The Spartans were unable to close on the Heat as Weststrate closed out the set with a kill and a 25-18 opening set win. The Spartans hit at .182 (7-3-22), while the Heat hit at .536 (19-4-28) to open the match.
The second set was even till the midpoint, with the two teams tied at 15-15. Then a service ace from Piers De Greeff and a couple of blocks from third-year middle Cory Schoenherr, (Waterloo, Ont.) and Anselm Rein created separation and gave the Spartans a 20-15 lead. TWU would maintain their lead and finish out the set winning 25-20 and evening the match at 1-1. TWU finished the second set hitting at .250 (12-5-28), while UBC-O hit at .161 (9-4-31).
The third set was even for the majority of the game, with the two teams within a point of each other from 10-10 to 25-25. TWU got the two points they needed for the set off of a Rempel kill followed by a Rein service ace to give the Spartans the set 27-25 and the 2-1 set lead. The Spartans finished the set at .438 (19-5-32), while the Heat finished at .345 (13-3-29).
With the teams tied 7-7 TWU second-year outside Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) had an ace and three straight servers to help the Spartans to an early 11-7 lead. TWU gradually expanded the lead to 16-11 midway through the set. The Spartans looked I total control of the set as they took a 23-18 after a Rempel kill. But the Heat responded and took three straight points to make it a two-point match, with TWU up 23-21. But, that would be as close as UBC Okanagan would get as a back-row attacking error by the Heat gave the Spartans the set 25-23 and the match 3-1. TWU finished the night hitting .208 (10-5-24) in the fourth set, while UBC-O hit at .138 (10-6-29).
QUOTABLE TWU Head Coach Adam Schriemer
“The thing I’m most happy about this weekend was our nine-meter serving and then our passing as well and we broke at times but I don’t think our serve pass was an issue at all throughout the weekend and that’s something we’ve put a lot of work into. I’m really happy with our middle. One thing that stuck was our start today, we talked about how we just need to get off the bench. It’s good to see players stepping up offensively because we are going to need more balance offensively. It’s cool to see Anselm really develop, he’s playing really high level and he’s doing it consistently.”
NOTABLE
The Spartans finished the night hitting at .283 (48-18-106), while the Heat finished at .291 (51-17-117).
TWU had the better blocking with eight blocks to UBC Okanagan’s 7.5.
The Heat had 35 digs, while the Spartans had 34.
TWU finished with seven aces, while UBC-O finished with five.
The Spartans are 43-4 lifetime against the Heat.
The last time TWU lost to UBC-O was 3-0 on February 25, 2022 in Kelowna, B.C.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now travel to Regina, Sask. next weekend to take on the Regina Cougars on Friday, November 17, and Saturday, November 18. Match time on both nights is set for 8 p.m. and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
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 14 U SPORTS team championships and 34 Canada West team championships.
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