WVB: History on the line for both teams in CW Championship

GOLD MEDAL MATCH

TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS vs. MOUNT ROYAL COUGARS

Saturday, March 11 @ 7:30 p.m. PST – Langley Events Centre in Langley, BC

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Trinity Western is seeking to become the first team to win four consecutive Canada West women’s volleyball championships in nearly 35 years.

Mount Royal is looking to capture the Women’s Intervarsity Volleyball Trophy for the first time, period.

Suffice to say, it will be a historic result no matter who comes out on top when the Spartans and Cougars compete in the 2023 Canada West women’s volleyball gold medal match at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday night. Catch the action live on Canada West TV, beginning at 7:30 p.m. PST.

The top two teams in the 2022-23 Canada West regular season standings, with records of 22-2 and 19-5, respectively, Trinity Western and Mount Royal have swept through the first two rounds of the 2023 Canada West women’s volleyball playoffs. Last week saw the Cougars eliminate the Manitoba Bisons while the Spartans knocked off the Winnipeg Wesmen 2-0 in best-of-three semi-final series.

The Spartans are on a 13-match win streak, a streak that spans their final nine contests of the regular season as well as the quarterfinal and semi-final rounds of the postseason. They won both of their regular season matches against MRU, by scores of 3-1 and 3-0 at Kenyon Court in Calgary on Nov. 18 and 19.

Since then, Mount Royal has only lost twice. The Cougars are currently riding a 15-match win streak, with eleven of those victories coming in straight sets and only one needing a fifth set.

Such remarkable team success can come only through the collective efforts of many talented individuals, of which the Cougars and Spartans have plenty: Half of the 14 total student-athletes selected as Canada West First- or Second-Team All-Stars will be on the court at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday night, including setter Quinn Pelland, outside hitter Haley Roe and middle Nyadholi Thokbuom of MRU, along with setter Dora Komlodi, middle Kaylee Plouffe, and outside hitters Ansah Odoom and Savannah Purdy of TWU.

After the last decade of Canada West women’s volleyball, it’s fitting this season would culminate with a match-up between Trinity Western and Mount Royal. The three-time defending champion Spartans won their first-ever Canada West gold medal in 2014-15 and have since taken home the Women’s Intervarsity Volleyball Trophy five of the last seven times it has been awarded. They would become the first team to claim the Canada West championship four straight times since the Victoria Vikes won five straight titles from 1986 to 1990.

Mount Royal only joined Canada West in the 2012-13 season, and ten years later have reached the first women’s volleyball gold medal for the first time. The Cougars have been knocking on the door of championship contention, capturing Canada West bronze each of the last two postseasons, 2020 and 2022, and now hope on Saturday to make the same breakthrough that their opponent did not long ago.

As Canada West finalists, both Mount Royal and Trinity Western have clinched a spot in the field for 2023 U SPORTS women’s volleyball championship, taking place March 17-19 at War Memorial Gymnasium on the campus of UBC.

BRONZE MEDAL MATCH

WINNIPEG WESMEN vs. MANITOBA BISONS

Friday, March 10 @ 7 p.m. CST – Duckworth Centre in Winnipeg, MB

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The winner of Friday’s third-place game will also earn a trip to Vancouver, where they will join the Cougars, Spartans, and host UBC T-Birds as Canada West representatives in the U SPORTS championship. The battle for bronze will stream live on Canada West TV, beginning at 7:00 p.m. CST.

Winnipeg ended the regular season with a 16-6 record, tied for third in the standings, while Manitoba finished sixth at 14-10.

The crosstown rivals split a pair of matches at the beginning of February, with each winning on their home floor.

CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL

To stay up-to-date on all the action, visit Championship Central.

WATCH

Catch all games streaming live on Canada West TV.