SPARTANS OPEN UP DEFENCE OF NATIONAL TITLE AGAINST HOST GAELS

LANGLEY, British Columbia — The Trinity Western Spartans will enter this week’s 2024 U SPORTS Men’s Volleyball Championship as the No. 4 seed after finishing second in Canada West. The defending national champion Spartans will open against the host and No. 5 seed Queen’s Gaels (OUA finalist) on Thursday at 6 p.m. ET.
 
The Sherbrooke Vert & Or, who had an undefeated run through the RSEQ regular season and playoffs, are the top seed and will face the No. 8 Guelph Griffins (OUA Bronze). The Alberta Golden Bears earned the No. 2 seed after defeating the Spartans In the Canada West conference final and will face the No. 7 Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ finalist). The No. 3 seed McMaster Marauders (OUA champion) will round out the draw against the No. 6 seed UBC Thunderbirds (CW Bronze).  
 
TWU, Sherbrooke, McMaster, and Alberta are all returning from last year’s national tournament, where they finished 1-4 at the tournament. TWU defeated Sherbrooke In the final, while McMaster defeated Alberta In the bronze medal match.
 
The 2024 championship, which runs from Thursday to Sunday, will be held at the Athletics and Recreation Centre on the campus of Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont.
 
Championship website: https://usports.ca/en/championships/volleyball/m
 
The complete field, in seeding order, is as follows:

1. Sherbrooke Vert & Or (RSEQ champions, 16-0 regular season, 4-0 playoffs)
2. Alberta Golden Bears (CW champions, 18-6, 5-1)
3. McMaster Marauders (OUA champions, 16-4, 3-0)
4. Trinity Western Spartans (CW finalists: 16-8, 4-2)
5. Queen’s Gaels (OUA finalists, 15-5, 2-1)
6. UBC Thunderbirds (CW bronze medallists, 16-8, 3-2)
7. Laval Rouge et Or (RSEQ finalists, 10-6, 2-2)
8. Guelph Gryphons (OUA bronze medallists, 15-5, 2-1)

 
The eight participating teams are seeded with the requirements that conference playoff results be respected, that conference champions be seeded no lower than No. 6, that the top two teams from each conference are on opposite sides of the draw and to avoid conference matchups as much as possible.
 
The quarterfinals will be played on Thursday, as follows: (all times Eastern)

• Noon: No. 7 Laval vs. No. 2 Alberta
• 2 p.m.: No. 6 UBC vs. No. 3 McMaster
• 6 p.m.: No. 4 Trinity Western at No. 5 Queen’s
• 8 p.m.: No. 8 Guelph vs. No. 1 Sherbrooke

 
The semifinals will take place on Friday at 6 and 8 p.m., with the consolation games set for 4 and 6 p.m on Saturday. On Sunday, the fifth-place game is set for 1 p.m., with the bronze medal game following at 3 p.m. and the championship game at 7 p.m.
 
Tickets for the event are currently on sale on the U SPORTS website.
 
All 11 games from the event will be broadcast live on CBC Sports digital platforms in English. In French, the games will be carried on Radio Canada’s digital platforms (French). The full schedule will be available throughout the tournament at usports.ca/en/broadcast.

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-