WINNIPEG – Trinity Western improved to 4-0 on the season after completing a weekend sweep of Winnipeg with a 3-0 (25-23, 25-22, 25-22) win Saturday at the Duckworth Centre.
Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) led the Spartans offensively with 11 kills to go with five blocks while Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.) had 10 kills for the Spartans, who hit .227 for the night. Setter Sydney Gill (St. Catharines, Ont.) had 34 assists to guide the offence.
Brooke Duncalfe led the Wesmen with 13 kills, Winnipeg hit .149 on the night. Taylor Cangemi had a match-high 10 digs.
The loss dropped the Wesmen to 1-3.
QUOTABLE Ryan Hofer – Head Coach
“It was another good night for our group. It’s good to come into Winnipeg and be able to come away with two hard-fought wins. We have a lot of respect for this team and this program. Tonight was a little bit about learning how to dig ourselves out of holes. We’d get ourselves into some trouble and it forced us to learn how to battle. Tonight was a good night of just not giving up and learning how to play free in the moment.”
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans took a 6-0 lead in the first set and maintained a six-point edge at 16-10. The Wesmen clawed their way back to eventually even the set 22-22, but the Spartans pulled away late to take the opener.
In the second set, TWU went up 13-9 and 16-11 but once again Winnipeg rallied to get within one point, at 22-21. From there, the Spartans scored three of the next four points to win the set.
The Spartans trailed 20-17 in the third set before the Spartans rallied, scoring three straight to tie it. After a Duncalfe kill made it 22-21 for Winnipeg. From there, the Spartans went on a four-point run to close the match.
NOTABLE
· TWU has now won 18 straight Canada West games, including the regular season and playoffs.
· The Spartans are 40-9 lifetime against the Wesmen.
· The last time that TWU lost to Winnipeg was 3-2 on November 13, 2004, 36 matches.
· Last week Trinity Western defeated Fraser Valley 3-1, and 3-0 in Langley, B.C.
UP NEXT
The Spartans are back at home Nov. 3-4 when they host the UBC Okanagan Heat.
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 and disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.