REMPEL, ANSELM MAKE HISTORY TO LEAD SPARTANS PAST BOBCATS

LANGLEY, British Columbia – Fourth-year outside Henry Rempel (Swift Current, Sask.) finished with a career and Spartan best 27 kills to lead No. 8 Trinity Western Spartans (16-8) to a 3-1 victory over the sixth place Brandon Bobcats (16-8) Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B,C. The Spartans 25-23, 25-20, 23-25, 25-19 victory puts Trinity Western into the Canada West semi-finals.  

Rempel breaks his personal best of 26 kills and breaks the TWU record of 24 kills in a four set play-off match which was held by Brody Hofer, Blake Scheerhoorn, and Steven Marshall. Rempel also ties the Canada West record for kills in four set match in a Canada West play-off match, which Alberta’s Taylor Hunt set in against Calgary February 25, 2012. The record by a Canada West player in a post season match is 28 kills, which was set by Brandon’s Sam Tuivai against Montreal on March 1, 2013.

Third-setter Anselm Rein (Erfurt, Germany) finished the night with 57 set assists, which breaks the TWU four-set post season record of 53, which was set by TWU head coach Adam Schriemer against Saskatchewan on March 5, 2016. The 57 set assists is the third most in Canada West history for a four-set play-off match.

First-year Piers De Greeff (Victoria, B.C.) with 11 kills, three aces, and six digs, third-year middle Jackson Corneil (Surrey, B.C.) with 10 kills at .714, and second-year outside Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) with 10 kills, and six digs also had strong night’s for the Spartans.

Tom Friesen with 13 kills, and Jens Watt with 10 kills, and two blocks led the Bobcats. J.J. Love led Brandon with 40 set assists.

AS IT HAPPENED
The Bobcats were in control for much of the opening set. After being swept the previous night Brandon looked determined not to have a repeat performance. The Bobcats quickly took control with a 16-11 lead. But, after exchanging points, the Spartans found their game. TWU used at 9-4 run to tie the opening set at 20-20. The teams exchanged points to 23-23, before the Spartans took the final two to earn the 25-23 win. TWU hit at .387 (17-5-31), while Brandon hit at .320 (12-4-25).
 
The two teams remained even for the early stages of the second set with TWU holding the slim 11-10 lead. TWU quickly took over with a 7-3 run to lead 18-13. Brandon cut the lead to three points, 21-18, before TWU closed out the second set 25-20. The Spartans hit at an exceptional .684 (14-1-19), while the Bobcats hit at .364 (12-4-22).
 
The third set was even for the entire game, with neither team holding more than a two-point lead. With the two teams tied at 23-23, the Bobcats finally broke through after five sets and finished it off to take the set 25-23 and hold off the Spartans from taking the series. TWU hit at .200 (17-9-40), while Brandon hit at .296 (11-3-27).
 
The fourth set was even till 9-9, but TWU created some space with three straight points to lead 12-9 and never relinquished the lead. Brandon closed to one point, 17-16, but the Spartans finished with a 8-3 run to close out the set 25-19 and the 3-1. TWU hit at .382 (16-3-34), while Brandon hit at .320 (10-2-25).
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Adam Schriemer
“I was pumped with how we responded quickly in the first set. We knew Brandon was going to play much better tonight. We knew that was going to be it’s kind of grinding back and forth game and I thought we engaged in that type of match.”
 
“I thought Henry was just incredible with 27 kills. He was crazy efficient and our ability to use the middle was nice.”
 
“I thought our service pressure wasn’t as great as it was yesterday and I thought that was probably what kept us close since we didn’t earn as much advantage as we did yesterday. But I’m happy that we can win and play okay with not serving great.”
 
On advancing in the playoffs
“The stage of the year we’re trying to survive and advance, so we’re just going to figure out a couple of upgrades. We are who we are, and we just have to continue to play sharp and it’s good to be moving on to the semifinal.”
 
NOTABLE

• TWU finished at .371 (64-18-124), while Brandon finished at .323 (45-13-99).
• Brandon had a 9.5-2 edge in team blocks, while the Spartans had a 7-3 edge in service aces.
• No. 7 TWU finished Canada West conference play at 16-8 to finish third in Canada West, while Brandon finished at 7-15 to place sixth.
• The Spartans are 32-16 lifetime against the Bobcats.
• TWU defeated Brandon 3-0 last night in the first game of the series.
• The last time the Spartans and Bobcats met in the post-season was February 23-24, 2023 at the Langley Events Centre.  TWU defeated Brandon 2-0 in the best of three series winning 3-1, and 3-0. In the Canada West quarter finals.
• Their last meeting was January 19-20 at the Langley Events Centre. The Spartans and Bobcats split the series. TWU won 3-1 on Friday and lost 3-2 in the Saturday match.
• This is the fifth straight year that TWU and Brandon have met in the post season.

­UP NEXT
The Spartans will wait the outcome of the other Canada West quarter final matches to determine who and where they will be playing next week.

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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