LANGLEY, B.C. – No. 1-ranked Trinity Western defeated Alberta in three sets (25-9, 25-23, 25-11) on Saturday night.
The Spartans (13-1) had yet another dominant performance from first-year outside Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.). Boldon threw down 15 kills with a hitting percentage of .364. For the Pandas (6-8), it was Laila Johnson who boasted the most kills, making eight in the loss.
The Spartans were also lifted by 21 digs by Emma Gamache (Abbotsford, B.C.), which would ultimately lead to a team hitting percentage of .305.
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans defeated the Pandas 25-9 set as Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) led the way with five kills on eight errorless attempts. TWU hit the ball well in the first set, posting a hitting percentage of .533 while holding the Pandas to .261.
TWU squeaked out a 25-23 second set victory after facing significant pressure from the Pandas. The set saw eight tied scores and three lead changes.
The final set saw the Spartans assert themselves from the beginning. TWU defeated Alberta 25-11 in the set, holding Alberta to a hitting percentage of .267.
QUOTABLE Ryan Hofer – TWU Head Coach
“Really pleased with the team’s response tonight. We cleaned up a few things in regards to our gameplan, and raised our level in all aspects of the game. We prevented ourselves from leaking points in the serving phase, and we did a really nice job in executing and meeting our standards.
“Maryn [Boldon] had a great night, she took heavy volume for us. I also thought Ansah [Odoom] and Kaylee [Plouffe] responded well, and Emma [Gamache] did a great job in our backcourt defence. We started doing something different in our substitutions to shore up our service receptions, everyone coming in helped and they all made us better.
“This weekend sharpened us – every team can beat each other in Canada West if you’re not careful. If you’re not going in sharp and alert, you can lose. Overall, happy with the lessons we learned this weekend, the team responded well tonight.”
NOTABLE
Boldon beat her previous career high in kills on Friday, putting down 16 kills across four sets played.
Plouffe hit the ball well on Saturday, putting down seven kills on a hitting percentage of .467. The second-year middle is currently leading the conference in hitting percentage (.462).
TWU has won eight of their last 10 matches against Alberta.
UP NEXT
TWU travels to Saskatoon to take on Saskatchewan next weekend (Jan. 13, 14).
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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