EDMONTON, Alberta – Led by fourth-year outside Henry Rempel’s (Swift Current, Sask.) 18 kills, eight digs, and five blocks the No. 9 Trinity Western Spartans defeated the No. 2 Alberta Golden Bears 3-1 at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton, Alta. The 25-20, 18-25, 25-20, 25-22 win moves the Spartans to 4-3, while the loss drops the Golden Bears to a similar 4-3.
Second-year outside Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) with 15 kills, and three assists, and first-year outside Piers de Greeff (Victoria, B.C.) with 12 kills also had strong games for the Spartans. With setter Anselm Rein finishing the night with 50 set assists. Isaac Heslinga with 17 kills, and Jacob Sargent with 14 kills, four blocks, and two aces led the Golden Bears.
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans were hot from the opening serve in this one, capturing the first set 25-20 and out-hitting the Bears 14 to seven in the kills department. Rempel was huge in the frame, recording a set-high eight kills.
Alberta battled back in the second, riding Jacob Sargeant to a 25-18 win. He finished with six kills and three blocks in what amounted to a stellar set for the second-year outside hitter.
The Spartans would capture the momentum back permanently however, as Reins would have an impressive 26 assists over the last two frames to lead the Spartans to 25-20, and 25-22 set wins for the victory on the road.
QUOTABLE TWU Head Coach Adam Schriemer
“The thing I’m most happy about is how mentally engaged we were over a long period of time. The challenge with playing Alberta is the volleyball is going to be up and down. There is going to be lots of shifts in momentum and lots of runs but our ability to stick with the game plan is going to be what sets us apart. And I thought we did that well tonight. I’m really happy with our receivers Aaron Elser (Calgary, Alta.), Piers, and Kayden did a really good job of receiving the ball and didn’t break in reception at all and that allowed us to be creative offensively. Winning on the road isn’t easy, especially in the Saville Centre and now we get a chance to do it again tomorrow.”
NOTABLE
TWU finished the night hitting .291 (55-23-110), while Alberta finished hitting .245 (40-16-98)
The Spartans had a 34-24 edge in digs, while the Bears had the edge in Aces 3-2, and 7-5 in blocks.
Last week Trinity Western defeated to UBC Okanagan 3-0, and 3-1 in Langley, B.C.
Last week Alberta beat Mount Royal 3-2 and 3-0 in Calgary, Alta.
The Spartans are 35-64 lifetime against the Bears.
In their last meeting, at the 2023 CW championship, the Spartans lost to the Bears 3-1.
The last time TWU defeated Alberta was 3-1 on March 19 in the 2022 CW championship.
UP NEXT
The Spartans and the Golden Bears will finish the weekend series tomorrow night in Edmonton, Alta. Match time is set for 7 p.m. and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
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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