MVB: No. 8 ranked Spartans win in three against Manitoba

WINNIPEG — For a second night in a row, the No. 8 nationally ranked Trinity Western Spartans dictated play from the service line, sweeping the Manitoba Bisons in three (25-19, 25-23, 25-17) to improve to 8-6. Manitoba fell to 10-6. 
 
The visitors had ten aces in the match, led by setter Anselm Rein (second in the conference with 10.10 assists per set), who was a standout in multiple aspects, finding the right matchups with 31 assists along with a team-leading five aces. 
 
Manitoba was paced by six total blocks from sophomore middle Harrison Ens, and six kills each from Spencer Grahame and Kai Boyko. 
 
A back and forth first set was broken open by the Spartans, who, leading 16-14, scored six of the next eight points, closing out the first with a seven-point win. There were seven ties, but TWU never trailed. 
 
A day after recording seven aces, TWU opened strong again, with four in the first set, including three from setter Anselm Rein, who also had a kill, nine assists, a dig and an assisted block. Rein’s third ace made it 20-15 as the visitors applied consistent pressure at the back line, much like yesterday. 
 
Bisons middle Harrison Ens got the start on Saturday, hitting .333 with two kills and a team-leading two solo blocks to start the match. Boyko also hit .500 with two kills and an assisted block, but the visitors were the cleaner team on the attack overall, hitting .296 compared to .150 for Manitoba. 
 
The second set featured four lead changes, and a combined 13 assisted blocks, nine from the Bisons, who held a 19-16 lead thanks to a Sammy Ludwig ace and Ens and Nicoles Carter double block, but the hosts couldn’t close things out. 
 
Three attacks errrors, a Piers de Greeff ace and a line shot kill from leading attacker Henry Rempel gave the visitors a 23-22 lead, and they won by two thanks to a Kaden Schmidt roll shot. 
 
Rein had 23 assists after two, while Bisons libero Josh Jehle had a game-high nine digs. His  pancake dig which led to a Ludwig dish to Boyko for the kill thrilled the fans. Boyko, the first-year sensation, completed the play with an impressive cross-court kill over the double block from the left that brushed the back line. 
 
Service pressure was again the story in third. The Spartan’s most powerful hitter and best server Rempel had two aces, while Rein added another two as TWU held a six-point lead throughout the set. 
 
Bisons setter Alex Witt subbed in during the third, and his service pressure led to an over bump kill from Jordon Heppner, TWU’s transition game proved lethal, with Piers de Greeff ending the match in system. 
 
Next up for TWU is a home series against Brandon, while Manitoba will travel to play UBC.