LANGLEY, British Columbia – The No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans were efficient in a 3-0 victory over the visiting Regina Cougars Saturday evening at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The Spartans need just 70 minutes to earn a 25-16, 25-18, 25-13 win. The victory improves the Spartans to 18-2, while the loss drops the Cougars to 2-18.
Savannah Purdy (Victoria, B.C.) with 10 kills and six digs, and Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) with eight kills and two blocks led the Spartans. While Bailey Balaberda (Regina, Sask.) with 10 kills and four digs led the Cougars. Dora Komlodi (Calgary) ran the Spartans’ attack and finished with 34 set assists, while Cassadi Klapak, (Lanigan, Sask.) who finished with 21 assists, led the Cougars.
The Spartans dominated the opening set leading 16-5, taking the opening game 25-16. The Spartans hit at .360 (12-3-25), with the Cougars hit at .238 (10-5-21). TWU had the edge in aces 4-1 and blocks 2-1.
The second set had the Cougars jump out to an early lead, 11-7. But, the Spartans rallied as the set progressed. TWU used an 11-5 run to take an 18-16 lead before closing out the set. 25-18. TWU hit at .194 (13-6-36), while Regina hit .111 (10-6-36). Regina had the edge in blocks, 4-1, while TWU had the lone ace of the set.
The Spartans had a better opening to the third set taking a 7-4 lead. TWU extended their lead to 16-8, before taking the set 25-13, and the match 3-0. TWU hit at an impressive .576 (19-0-33), while Regina hit at .148 (7-3-27). Regina had the only block of the set, while TWU had a 3-0 edge in aces.
QUOTABLE Ryan Hofer – TWU Head Coach
“I really liked our attack efficiency this weekend. We’re really working on adjusting our decision-making in the right moments – which isn’t an easy task. I’m excited seeing that process work for our athletes. It was neat seeing more athletes getting opportunities this weekend, they did really well. Dora [Komlodi] did an outstanding job of distributing the ball, she made some big plays for us this weekend.
“Overall, I’m happy with the team’s performance.”
NOTABLE
• The Spartans are now 40-18 lifetime against the Cougars and 27-15 in conference play.
• TWU finished the night hitting at .372 (44-9-94), while Regina finished at .155 (27-14-84).
• The Spartans had an 8-1 edge in service aces, while the Cougars had a 5-3 edge in blocks.
• The Spartans single-season conference record for digs is 348, which was set by Julie Blackburn in 2006-07. Emma Gamache (Abbotsford, B.C.) currently has 311 digs. Her best season was 324, which she had in 2018-19.
• TWU beat Regina 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-23) last night.
• The last time the Spartans lost to the Cougars on January 19, 2018 when Regina prevailed 3-2 (26-24, 19-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-13).
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now host the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Friday and Saturday, February 10-11. Match times are set for 6 p.m. and 5 p.m. and 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 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.
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