EDMONTON, Alberta – The Trinity Western Spartans dropped the opening set, but quickly recovered to defeat the MacEwan Griffins 3-1 and complete the weekend sweep Saturday night at the David Atkinson Gym at the Christenson Family Centre in Edmonton, Alta. The 20-25, 25-15, 25-23, 25-16 win improves the Spartans to 2-0, while dropping the Griffins to 0-2.
Second-year outside Piers De Greeff (Victoria, B.C.) with 15 kills, and two blocks, third-year John Obi (Winnipeg, Man.) with 10 kills, seven blocks, and five digs, and third-year Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) with nine kills, four digs, and three aces led the Spartans. While Mithcell Croft with nine kills, three digs, and two blocks, and Daylan Andison with five kills, and four digs led the Griffins.
Fourth-year setter Anselm Rein (Erfurt, Germany) with 41 set assists ran the Spartan attack, while his counter part with MacEwan Mason Natras finished with 22 set assists.
UP NEXT
The Spartans will return to Langley, B.C. for their Canada West home opener against the Brandon Bobcats. Match times on Friday, October 25, and Saturday, October 26 are set for 7 p.m. (PT), and 6 p.m. (PT) respectively.
QUOTABLE TWU head coach Adam Schriemer
“Before the match we talked about winning in the Canada West on the road two nights in the row is extremely difficult. In order to do that you have to be prepared to grind. I don’t know that we were prepared to grind tonight, but I think we got to a spot that our compete level was finally appropriate for the intensity of the match. In this league, sometimes you have to find ways to win when certain phases aren’t playing great.”
“Interesting thing tonight was we didn’t spike well or serve strong, but we still found a way to win. And I think that’s a happy. The clear takeaway is we have to get a lot more consistent serving, and we have to become a much better team offensively. It’s going to be our challenge going into home opener this week as we prepare for a tough Brandon team.”
NOTABLE
• The Spartans finished the night hitting at .240 (48-25-96) while the Griffins hit at .000 (26-26-83).
• TWU had an 6-0 edge in service aces, and a 24-17 edge in digs.
• The Spartans also had the lead in blocks at 13-11.
• Trinity Western was ranked No. 2 in the Canada West preseason coaching poll, while MacEwan was ranked No. 13.
• The Spartans defeated the Griffins 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-15) Friday night in Edmonton.
• TWU finishes preseason non-conference play at 7-0, while MacEwan finishes their preseason at 1-5.
• The Spartans are currently 18-0 lifetime against the Griffins.
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.
About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.