SPARTANS DROP FIRST MATCH OF THE SEASON

KELOWNA, British Columbia – The No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans quest for a perfect season came to an end Friday night in Kelowna, B.C. as the Spartans were swept by the UBC Okanagan Heat. The Heat drop the Spartans to 14-1 on the season, while improving to 8-7 with a 25-18, 25-21, 25-19 victory over TWU.

Having sewn up top spot in the Canada West Conference West Division the Spartans only featured one starter in Saturday’s game, with the Spartans next generation getting valuable playing time against at physical UBC Okanagan side.

Henry Rempel with 12 kills, and one ace and Isaiah Olfert with eight kills, and one ace and Aaron Elser with seven kills and four digs led the Spartans. While Cameron Vanderveen with 11 kills, four blocks, and one ace and Noah Carlson with six kills, and three digs led the Heat.

AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans and Heat were evenly matched to start the evenings contest. Then with the two teams tied at 7-7 UBC Okanagan were able to use a 9-5 run to lead 16-12 at the technical timeout. The Heat expanded their lead to six points, 20-14 as the set entered the final phase. TWU was able to cut the UBC-O lead to four points, 22-18, but they could get no closer as the Heat took the opening set 25-18. TWU’s attack struggled as the Spartans hit .100 (11-9-20), while UBC-O hit at .364 (5-1-11).

The Heat jumped out to an early 9-6 lead in the second set, but the Spartans were able to close to one point, trailing 16-15 just after the technical break. The two teams played side out ball. Then with the Heat leading 20-19 UBC O was able to take five of the next seven points to take the set 25-21 and lead the match 2-0. TWU improved their attack to .214 (11-5-28), while UBC-O dropped to .161 (11-6-31).

The Spartans had a good start to the final set as they took an early 4-0 lead. But the Heat were able to take the next six of seven points to lead 6-5. The two teams exchanged points until 10-10, when UBC O used a 6-2 run to lead 16-12 at the technical break. The rest of the set the Spartans were unable to get closer than two points as the Heat closed out the match taking five of the last seven points to take the set 25-18 and the match 3-0. TWU hit at .208 (10-5-24), while UBC-O hit at .348 (12-4-23).

NOTABLE

• Tonight’s loss was the first conference loss for TWU since a 3-0 loss to Thompson Rivers in the final match of the 2019-20 season.
• The Spartans have never been undefeated in Canada West conference play. Their best season to date was in 2011-2012 when they finished 19-1.
• This is the first time UBC Okanagan has beaten Trinity Western in Canada West conference play. The Spartans are now 20-1 lifetime against the Heat.

UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish Canada West conference play tomorrow night in the second match of the two game series with the UBC Okanagan Heat. Match time tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, February 26, is set to start at 6 p.m. The match can be seen live on Canadawest.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 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.

-TW-