ABBOTSFORD, British Columbia – The No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans put on an impressive offensive and serving display as they cruised to a 3-0 victory over the Fraser Valley Cascades Thursday night at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre in Abbotsford, B.C. The 25-11, 25-15, 25-13 victory keeps the Spartans unbeaten at 13-0, while the loss keeps the Cascades winless at 0-13.
The Spartans finished the night hitting .631, which is the highest hitting percentage in a match in program history. The previous record was. .627 against TRU on November 5, 2021.
Brodie Hofer and Jesse Elser led the Spartans with nine kills each, while Bailey Burdick and Comrie Engbers with five kills each paced the Cascades.
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans dominated the first set of the match. TWU’s serving and multi proned attack kept UFV off balance throughout the set. The Spartans jumped out to a 8-3 lead, led 16-7 at the media break, before taking the opening set 25-11. TWU hit at an impressive .571 (14-2-21), while UFV hit at .042 (5-4-24).
TWU and UFV were more evenly matched in the second set as the Spartans led 8-6 early. But again the Spartans were too strong for the Cascades as they jumped out to a significant 16-11 lead at the media break. TWU continued to control the set as they went up 2-0 with a 25-15 second set win. TWU hit at an outstanding .680 (18-1-25), while UFV struggled at .174 (9-5-23).
The Spartans were even more dominating to start the third set. Jesse Elser’s serving propelled TWU to a quick 6-0 lead and forced UFV into an early timeout. TWU continued to roll as the led 16-6 at the technical timeout. TWU continued to roll and took the match with a 25-13 third set win. TWU hit at .632 (14-2-19), while UFV hit at .100 (7-6-20).
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Ben Josephson
“It was an incredibly efficient and smooth match. The guys were really dialed on their execution. We asked them to raise their level this week and they responded really well with a tough week of training and then a really clean execution on the road. That type of efficiency is hard to do without anyone on the other side of the net, let alone a legitimate U SPORTS team. I’m proud of them for playing like that and being that focused.
“The highlight of the night was to see Henry Rempel (Swift Current, Sask.) back and playing after multiple injuries. He played really great tonight and it was great to see him do his thing after being a mutant and recovering like Wolverine and jumping like a freak and banging away.
“We had really great contributions from guys off the bench and the regulars were special.”
NOTABLE
- The Spartans have three matches left in Canada West conference play. TWU has never finished conference play unbeaten. Their best season was in 2011-2012 when they finished 19-1.
- The TWU team record for hitting percentage is .627 (34-2-51), which the Spartans accomplished in a 3-0 victory over Thompson Rivers this past November 5.
- The Spartans finished with six aces and six total blocks, while the Cascades finished with one ace and two blocks.
UP NEXT
The Spartans and the Cascades will now head down the road for game two of the home-and-home series. TWU will return home and host UFV Friday night at 8 p.m. the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The game 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 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.
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