MVB: Spartans Come Back for 3-1 Victory over Brandon

LANGLEY, B.C. – A combined 33 kills from Brodie Hofer (Langley, B.C.) and Henry Rempel (Swift Current, Sask.) led No. 5-ranked Trinity Western in their victory over No. 10 Brandon 3-1 (19-25, 25-11, 25-15, 25-22) at the Langley Events Centre on Thursday.
 
With Hofer and Rempel’s work in the attacking phase, Jesse Elser (Calgary) and Mathias Elser (Calgary) ran the serving end for TWU, putting down four aces each in the victory. For the Bobcats, Philipp Lauter led the way, making 11 kills in the loss. Bobcats outside Tom Friesen also played a strong match, making nine kills, three aces, and five digs.
 
The Spartans hit an efficient .366 as a team, holding the Bobcats to .192 to take the first game of the weekend’s best-of-three quarterfinal bout.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Bobcats jumped to a 1-0 lead after the first set, boasting a sideout percentage of 63 percent in the frame to secure a 25-19 win.
 
TWU came out firing in the second set, hitting the game’s best .632 in the frame for a 25-11 second-set victory.
 
The Spartans rolled once again in the third, earning a 25-15 victory over Brandon to claim a 2-1 lead.
 
The fourth, and final set of the match tilted in TWU’s favour once again (25-22). Brandon had their most efficient set of the night, hitting .370 in the segment of play, but the Spartans hit .542, proceeding to claim a 1-0 series lead.
 
QUOTABLE
Adam Schriemer – TWU Co-Interim Head Coach
“Brandon puts pressure on us in many ways. The first three sets was a display of serve-pass volleyball, and Grant [Wilson] (Brandon Head Coach) said that in his pre-game interview. We challenged the team before the game, telling them that they needed to be dialled in with some of the long rallies we were going to be playing. That was the case in the fourth set, when we were down 19-16, and Jesse [Elser] made Brandon play from his serves. Our block-defence transition executed off of that. Overall, really happy that we played clean when things got tight.”
 
Grant Wilson – Brandon Head Coach
“It was a first-touch game, and we talked about it going into the game. If we had a good first-touch with our serve and pass, we’d be able to stay close. We did that in the first, and a bit of the fourth, but [TWU] served us off the court in the second and third sets. We couldn’t contain their serve pressure, and we missed too many serves to get them under pressure. That’s not a good combination if you want to compete with a good team.
 
“The effort was there, we just made too many mistakes. A good team is going to put you in positions to make mistakes, so we have to give them credit where its due – [TWU] played great after the first set.
 
“Another chance to play volleyball tomorrow. It’s that time of the year – we want to be playing meaningful games, and we’re here, playing one of the best teams in the country. That’s all we can ask for.”
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans hold a 28-16 all-time record over the Bobcats. TWU has won eight of their last 10 against Brandon.