CALGARY – Trinity Western’s Emma Gamache and UBC’s Matt Neaves were named the Canada West Volleyball Players of the Week by the conference on Tuesday.
Gamache had her work cut out for her over the weekend, as her undefeated Trinity Western Spartans matched up against the only other yet-undefeated team in Canada West, the UBC Thunderbirds. The T-Birds boast the conference’s top kill rate, but the fourth-year libero was undeterred.
Gamache was relentless on defence, finding ways to keep the play alive regardless of what UBC threw at her. She posted 19 digs as the Spartans took an intense game in five sets.
Gamache returned Saturday, knowing exactly what she was up against, and rose to the challenge. She hit the deck for 31 digs, matching a school record as the Spartans battled back and forth with the Thunderbirds. Her efforts proved fruitful as Trinity Western came away with the victory to stay perfect on the season.
Gamache leads the conference in digs per set with 4.55.
She and the Spartans are now set to travel to Edmonton for a weekend series with the MacEwan Griffins. Those games are slated for Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. MST respectively. You can catch the action exclusively on Canada West TV.
Game log:
Nov. 25: 19 digs, 4 assists in 3-2W at UBC
Nov. 26: 31 digs, 3 assists in 3-2W vs UBC
Meanwhile, Matt Neaves has earned his second Player of the Week title after helping his team take a game off the then-perfect Trinity Western Spartans in a dominant performance.
Neaves converted at an astounding rate, making the most of every set he received. His 14 kills in three sets headlined the T-Birds’ Friday evening victory over the Spartans. The fourth-year opposite posted an eye-popping kill percentage of .684, while sailing in four service aces against the highly rated Spartans’ defence. He added four digs and two block assists for 19 points on the night.
Neaves went back into battle Saturday, slamming down 20 kills at a rate of .385. He duplicated his success from the service line while adding a solo block and six digs, but his 25 points weren’t quite enough to overcome the Spartans two nights in a row. UBC fell in five sets.
Neaves and the Thunderbirds are now off on a bye week that takes them to the holiday break. They will return to the hardcourt Jan. 6 and 7 when they host Saskatchewan at 7:45 p.m. and 6:45 p.m. PST respectively. You can catch the action exclusively on Canada West TV.
Game log:
Nov. 25: 14K (.684), 4SA, 2BA, 4 digs, 19 pts in 3-0 W vs TWU
Nov. 26: 20K (.385), 4SA, 1BS, 6 digs, 25 pts in 3-2 L at TWU