SEASON PREVIEW | REVAMPED SPARTANS LOOK TO DEFEND NATIONAL TITLE

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The seven-time and defending U SPORTS champion, and seven-time Canada West champion, Trinity Western Spartans are set to take the court for another season of high-level volleyball. The Spartans will have a different-looking lineup after graduating a number of All-Canadians and CW All-stars. Despite the changes, the Spartans will still be looking to defend their national title and reclaim the Canada West championship banner.
 
The Spartans, who are ranked third in the Canada West preseason coaches poll, have won seven of the past 16 conference titles since winning their first in 2007. TWU head coach Adam Schriemer has had the interim taking off of his position and will be looking to guide this group back to the CW championship match and another spot in the U SPORTS championship tournament in March. But he will be doing so with a significantly different lineup than last season’s championship team after the departures of Brodie Hofer, Mathias Elser, and Jesse Elser.
 
With the departures, the Spartans will have a very dynamic lineup as players look to establish their positions on the floor as the season progresses.
 
Every Spartans men’s volleyball game will be available live and on-demand this season on Canada West TV – the official streaming home of the conference. Passes are now on sale.
 
HEAD COACH ADAM SCHRIEMER
“It will be a very different year for us compared to last year. We graduated some key players, and what that means for this year is that there is lots of opportunity for some young guys and some new guys to show what their role can be on the court. We’ve been really excited about their development so far in training. But now the next challenge for them is to see how their role can grow as key performers on the court.”
 
“Henry was a pivotal player on last year’s team and he will have an increased role this year. The great part about Henry is that as he has gotten older he has been able to impact the game in every phase. He came in as an elite spiker and server, but he has developed into a really good blocker and defender and all the other skills as well. So Henry is something we are really excited about and we know he is going to have a huge role for us. We will rely on his skill, but his leadership as well.”
 
“We are excited to see what Anselm can do, he got a lot of opportunities last year and has earned the right to be our full time setter this season. We are excited to give him the keys so he can fully develop and be our guy.”
 
OUTSIDE HITTERS
The Spartans will see fourth-year Henry Rempel (Swift Current, Sask.) carry much of the attacking load from his offside position. Rempel finished last season with 359 kills (3.07 per set), while hitting at .332 percent. He also finished the season with 41 service aces, 46 blocks, and 150 digs. Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) .88 kills/set, John Obi (Winnipeg, Man.) .85 kills/set, Kyden Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.), and rookie Piers de Greeff (Victoria, B.C.) will look to establish time in the other outside positions.
 
SETTERS
The Spartans will be looking to Anselm Rein (Erfurt, Germany) to run the TWU’s offence throughout the season. Last season, while splitting the setting duties with Mathias Elser, Rein averaged 5.55 set assists/set (505 total) while adding 26 service aces, 74 digs, and 24 blocks.
 
MIDDLES
Cory Schoenherr (Waterloo, Ont.) will be responsible for a large portion of the middle load as the third-year returns after finishing last season with 91 blocks (0.94 per set), hitting at .340 with 132 kills, while adding 14 service aces. Liam Remple (Vernon, B.C.) who had 58 kills, hitting at .423, and Jackson Corneil (Surrey, B.C.) who had 36 kills, hitting at .379 will fill out the Spartans middle attack this season.
 
LIBERO
The libero position will see second-year Tayler Roxburgh (Langley, B.C.) keeping the ball off of the floor for the Spartans. Roxburgh finished last season averaging 2.25 digs/set.
 
CANADA WEST PRESEASON COACHES POLL
Alberta Golden Bears – 133 (5)
Mount Royal Cougars – 129 (5)
Trinity Western Spartans – 126 (1)
UBC Thunderbirds – 114 (1)
Winnipeg Wesmen – 91
Calgary Dinos – 88 (1)
Brandon Bobcats – 74
Saskatchewan Huskies – 71
Manitoba Bisons – 66
Thompson Rivers WolfPack – 43
Fraser Valley Cascades – 36
UBCO Heat – 30
MacEwan Griffins – 13
NOTE: Coaches ranked all opponents 1-13. First-place votes worth 13 points, second-place worth 14 points etc.
 
BY THE NUMBERS
2021-22 CW regular season record: 15-1, 1st in Pacific
2022 post-season record: 7-0, 1st 
Head Coach: Adam Schriemer 2^nd season / 18-6
 
Last CW championship / total CW championships: 2021 / 7
Last U SPORTS championship / total U SPORTS championships: 2023/ 7
 
2022-23 CW regular season ranks:
Offence: 1103 kills (2^nd)
Defence: 1.78 blocks/set (12^th)
 
2022-23 CW regular season leaders (returning):
Kills/set: 3.15 – Henry Rempel, Outside
Assists/set: 7.41 – Anselm Rein, Setter
Digs/set: 1.23 – Henry Rempel, Outside
Blocks: 0.94 – Cory Schoenherr, Middle
Hitting percentage: .419 – Liam Remple, Middle
 
Key additions (name / position / eligibility / hometown / last team):
Piers de Greeff / Outside / 1st year / Victoria, B.C. / Pacific Christian
 
Key losses (name / position / hometown / years with program):
Brodie Hofer/ Outside / Langley, B.C. / 5 years
Jesse Elser / Outside / Calgary, Alta. / 5 years
Mathias Elser / Setter, Outside / Calgary, Alta. / 4 years
 
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, as well as women’s and men’s disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.
 
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