KAMLOOPS, B.C. – Trinity Western rolled to its 11th straight win to start the Canada West season, beating Thompson Rivers 3-0 (25-22, 25-15, 25-12) Friday at the Tournament Capital Centre.
The win sees the Spartans move their record to 11-0 in the regular season and an impressive 20-0 against Canada West competition overall, including preseason action. The loss drops TRU to 6-8 in the regular season.
The Spartans Brodie Hofer (Langley, B.C.) led TWU offensively with 13 kills while committing just one attacking error and hitting .571. Meanwhile, Jackson Howe (Calgary) added nine kills and also had just one attacking error for a .615 efficiency. Derek Epp (Saskatoon) had a team-high 29 assists as the Spartans hit .507 as a team for the match.
Mathias Elser (Calgary) had an impressive stat line with seven kills, while hitting .700 and not committing a single attacking error, to go with six digs, two blocks, two aces and 12 assists. Jordan Schnitzer (Kelowna, B.C.) was also unstoppable has he hit .636 (7-0-11).
TRU’s Anton Napolitano had seven kills, 12 assists and five digs to lead the home side in all three categories.
The Spartans also had a sizable advantage from the baseline, with an 8-0 edge in aces.
AS IT HAPPENED
The first set saw the teams swing back and forth, but it was TWU pulling away late and setting the tone for what was to come. With the set tied 18-18, the Spartans went on a 3-0 run that gave TWU the lead for good. TRU never got closer than two points down the stretch.
With momentum in their corner, the Spartans rolled through the second set, running away with a 10-point win to set the table for a convincing result. The Spartans were virtually unstoppable in the set, hitting .708 (18-1-24). Conversely, TRU hit .190 (8-4-21) in the set.
It was more of the same in the third set, with the high-flying Spartans rolling to the win. For the second set in a row, the Spartans had just one attacking error, hitting .421 (9-1-19). TRU was held to .050 (8-7-20).
QUOTABLE
TWU Assistant Coach Adam Schriemer
“It was a good start for us. The boys played great, and we were very efficient offensively. Derek [Epp] and Mathias [Elser] had a really good handle on our offensive plan and they executed it well. We had a slow start serving, but the guys stayed patient and as the game went on, we put more serves in and started to get better results. We’ll have to sharpen up a couple things tomorrow because it’s always had to beat a good team twice.”
NOTABLE
- The loss for the WolfPack snapped a three-match winning streak.
- The last time TWU lost a Canada West regular season contest was against TRU on Feb. 15, 2019, when the WolfPack took the match in three sets.
UP NEXT
The Spartans and WolfPack will meet again Saturday at 2 p.m. back at the Tournament Capital Centre.
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.
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