SPARTANS WIN SEVENTH CANADA WEST CHAMPIONSHIP

LANGLEY, B.C. – No. 1 ranked Trinity Western won their seventh Canada West Championship on Saturday night, defeating the No. 3 ranked Alberta Golden Bears 3-1 (25-22, 25-19, 23-25, 28-26) in front of their home fans at the Langley Events Centre.

The Spartans were able to dominate on the offensive side of the ball, completing 55 kills as a team, but the Golden Bears, who made 43 kills on the night, continually kept themselves in the game through some outstanding serving pressure. The was also decided by slim margins within each set as TWU scored only nine more points when stacked up beside the Golden Bears. It was a 6-0 run which carried the Spartans to a victory in the second set, also standing as the most important stretch in securing the victory for TWU.

Individually, both Brodie Hofer (Langley, B.C.) and Mathias Elser (Calgary) stood out for the Spartans, earning the game-highs of 18, and 14 kills respectively. Elser’s night was impressive on various levels as the second-year hit .600 on his 20 attempts, adding seven assists, two assists, five digs, and four blocks to boast an incredible stat line.

Three Golden Bears made their way past 10 kills on the night. Jordan Canham led Alberta with 11 while Billy Johnstone and Grayden Wiebe found themselves at 10 each. Johnstone and Wiebe were incredible throughout the match, hitting a combined .517 to keep the Golden Bears afloat.

With Canada West play wrapped up for the 2021-22 season, both the Spartans and Golden Bears will be heading to Winnipeg to take on the U SPORTS Championships next weekend.

AS IT HAPPENED
Both the Spartans and Golden Bears were up for the challenge in front of a loud, and exuberant crowd at the Langley Events Centre. With both teams trading points early on, it was the Spartans who would begin pulling away, moving to a 19-15 lead partway through the set. Although Alberta didn’t have the same attacking prowess as the Spartans, the visitors kept things close early by making tough serves from the line to mount a five-point lead, taking their first of the game at 20-19. TWU would go on to reclaim their lead soon after, ending the first set at a 25-22 score favouring the home side.

The second set saw an even more inspired Golden Bears team hit the court, controlling the majority of the set until its end. With the first set being decided by a narrow margin, the second was much of the same, finding itself at a 19-19 draw. With pressure mounting for both sides, it was the Spartans who had the ice in their veins, completing a 6-0 run to win the second set 25-19. Although the Spartans were highly contested throughout the set, the Golden Bears couldn’t make it past a daunting blocking phase by TWU, forcing Alberta to hit .000 between both sets of play.

The third set was yet another one in close contention. The Golden Bears rode a slight lead for the latter half of the third, riding the wave of Billy Johnstone’s offensive stardom. Johnstone, a Canada West Second Team All-Star, put down four kills in the set for a total of seven through three sets of play (.667). Although a late surge from TWU was imminent, Alberta proceeded to cut off the set at 25-23, taking the game to a fourth set.

After two sets of Alberta holding a lead through the majority of the second and third, the Spartans would gain control of the fourth set early, retaining a narrow lead until the Golden Bears would tie things up at 20-20. Alberta scored four of the next six points to take a 24-22 lead, but the Spartans still had something to say, tying it up at 24 apiece. The two teams would trade blows until an Alberta swing trickled off the net, and out, rounding off the fourth set at a 28-26 set win for the Spartans, and a 3-1 win for the Spartans.

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Ben Josephson
“Honestly, it was a blur. Tonight had so many emotions in it. I was talking to a couple of the seniors about how our last match in this building is emotional, so is playing the Bears, and it being the Canada West Final on top of the way this game went. It all made for a really fun, and hard night to play well, which the Bears always makes it hard on us as well. The other emotions made it enjoyable, and frustrating all at the same time. Championships are so hard to win, but our guys did such a good job in competing. Managing distractions and emotions are important.

“It was another classic Bears-Spartans tilt. Their team did a good job adjusting, I thought our team was off and rolling – that we had things figured out – but a lot of things changed in the third set. Their setter was incredible tonight, changing his offence as his serving changed the game. This was always what we expected this matchup to be. We beat them by two points, so there isn’t much of a difference there.

“I’m happy we won what I believe to be the toughest competition of the year. What these guys all did over the last two years has been amazing, it was 24 months of grinding to get here, and I don’t know if we played well, but we won it.”

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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