SPARTANS DROP FIRST MATCH OF THE SEASON IN TOP 10 BATTLE

WINNIPEG, Manitoba – The No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans lost their first match of the season to a solid No. 8 Manitoba Bison team, 3-1, Friday night at the IGAC in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The 22-25, 25-18, 25-20, and 25-22 loss drops the Spartans to 12-1, while the win improves the Bisons to 13-2.

Third-year middle Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) with 17 kills, nine blocks, and three service aces, and second-year outside Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.) with 13 kills, four blocks, and seven digs led the Spartans. Raya Surinx with 19 kills, and 11 digs, Light Uchechukwu with 13 kills, and Brenna Bedosky with 11 kills led the Bisons.
Second-year setter Sydney Gill (St. Catharines, Ont.) ran the Spartan attack finishing the night with 27 set assists, while Manitoba’s Katreena Bentley finished with 45 assists, to go with 12 digs, three blocks, and three aces.

AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans won the first set, thanks to four kills and five assisted blocks from Plouffe. They hit a sensational .464 with just one error, while the Bisons had eight errors in a 25-22 set win for the visitors.
 
Surinx brought the Bisons back in the second with seven kills, while her service pressure, along with Bentley’s caused problems for the opposition. An off-balance Surinx kill followed by a Spartans error gave the Bisons the seven point win in the set.
 
Surinx added another six kills in the third, while the Bisons’ defence came up clutch in key moments in a five point set win. Libero Julia Arnold, who had a game-high 16 digs, sprawled to keep a rally alive, which was eventually ended by Surinx from the left.
 
Plouffe painted the back line with multiple impressive kills, showing off her power and accuracy, but the visitors were unable to get to within more than three, as when they made a run, Bentley found the right matchup, including in the middle, where Brenna Bedosky had four kills in the set, and 11 in the game with just one error.
 
Up by as much as six in the fourth, TWU stormed back to take a 19-18 lead on a Plouffe ace, one of three for her in the match, while the Spartans had three over the next four points overall.
 
Following a Bisons timeout, the hosts re-collected themselves, taking the lead after an Eve Catojo and Ella Gray block. Catojo added another block and an ace, while Bedosky also smashed a kill as the Bisons took a four-point lead and finished off the match in four.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Ryan Hofer
“Really fun exciting match tonight. Two really good teams just really playing some great volleyball. I think Manitoba this evening executed at a higher level than we did consistently over the course of the night. There is a lot that we can take from this game to learn and grow as a team so that we can match that execution, play our style of game, and do the things that we need to do. We are going to look at the few things that we can tweak and get better at, and we are excited to go at it again tomorrow.”
 
Oh the play of Plouffe
“Kaylee with her efficiency, was a force to be reckoned with out there at the net, on the service line, blocking, and attacking. She was really good for us tonight.”
 
NOTABLE

• TWU finished the night hitting at .275 (46-13-120), while Manitoba finished at .304 (64-22-138)
• The Spartans had 13 team blocks, while the Bisons had six.
• Manitoba finished with an 8-7 advantage in service aces.
• The Spartans had 43 digs, while the Cougars finished with 55.
• Last week Trinity Western defeated the Mount Royal Cougars 3-1 on both nights at home in Langley, B.C.
• Last week Manitoba swept the MacEwan Griffins 3-1 on Friday, and 3-0 on Saturday in Edmonton, Alta.
• The Spartans are 28-22 lifetime against the Bisons.
• TWU last lost to Manitoba, 3-2, on February 15, 2019, in Langley, B.C.

UP NEXT
The Spartans and Bisons will finish the two-game series tomorrow night in Winnipeg. The match is set for 6:45 p.m. (CT) start, 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.
 
-TW-