ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia– Led by Ansah Odoom (Surrey, B.C.), with 17 kills and 13 digs, and Savannah Purdy (Victoria, B.C.), with 16 kills and nine digs, the Trinity Western Spartans came from behind to defeat the Fraser Valley Cascades 3-1 Friday night in Abbotsford, B.C. The 21-25, 25-16, 25-20, 26-24 victory improves the Spartans to 3-0 in Canada West, while keeping the Cascades winless at 0-3.
AS IT HAPPENED
TWU dropped the first set of the match 25-21, as the Spartans only hit at .085 (11-7-47), while the Cascades hit at .146 (15-8-48).
The Spartans were better in the second set hitting at .333 (13-3-30) to the Cascades .103 (8-5-29) to even the match at 1-1 with the 25-16 win.
TWU carried the momentum into the third set for a 25-20 win. The Spartans hit .243 (15-6-37), while the Cascades hit at .067 (11-8-45).
The final set was the closest of the night with TWU prevailing 26-24 to take the match 3-1. The Spartans his at .333 (21-5-48), whit the Cascades had their best set of the night hitting at .351 (14-1-37). Fraser Valley controlled the early part of the set leading 8-3 and 16-9. And looked to be pushing for a fifth set, but with Trinity Western trailing 24-21 the Spartans Purdy went to the end line and never left until TWU had won the set 26-24 and the match 3-1.
QUOTABLE TWU Head Coach Ryan Hofer
“Coming in this weekend. We knew that it was going to be a battle. We have a lot of respect for UFV and their players and the coaching staff. We knew that was going to take a lot of grit and a lot of heart.”
“Pleased with a lot of learning and growing we had. How to deal pressure and how we are going to perform when we are put under pressure. Proud of how calm and focused they remained and just kept pushing through.”
“I’m really proud of the team this evening especially in a fourth set. Being down and just not looking at the score. Just taking one point at a time and just chipping away right to the end.”
On individual players:
“An outstanding night by Emma Gamache. She was a defensive and passing machine for us. And hats off to Dora and her distribution. Ansah had an outstanding night, and really just good support from the entire team. Good stuff all around.”
NOTABLE
• The Spartans are 9-0 lifetime against the Cascades.
• Trinity Western finished the match hitting .241 (60-21-162), while Fraser Valley hit .164 (48-22-159)
• The Spartans finished with 78 digs and eight team blocks, while the Cascades finished with 65 digs and 12 team blocks.
• Dora Komlodi (Calgary) led the Spartans with 44 set assists, while Gailin Bitter led the Cascades with 34.
• Emma Gamache (Abbotsford, B.C.) led the Spartans with 23 digs, while Emily Matsui led the Cascades with 22 digs.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will finish-up the two-match weekend against the Cascades tomorrow night at the UFV Athletic Centre. Match time is set for 7 p.m. PT 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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