WVB: Spartans take opening match over visiting Wesmen

LANGLEY, British Columbia– The No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans rallied to defeat the No. 5 Winnipeg Wesmen 3-1 to take the opening match of the Canada West semi-final Thursday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The 22-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-18 win gives the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the best of three series.
 
Ansah Odoom (Surrey, B.C.) with 16 kills, and 11 digs, and Savannah Purdy (Victoria) with 14 kills, and 15 digs, and Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) with 10 kills, and five blocks led the Spartans. While Emma Parker (St. Adolphe, Man.) with 17 kills, and 16 digs, and Ashleigh Laube (Winnipeg) with nine kills, and nine digs led the Wesmen. TWU’s Dora Komlodi (Calgary) finished the night with 42 set assists and 19 digs, while Winnipeg’s Portia Switzer (White City, Sask.) finished with 33 set assists and 11 digs. TWU Libero Emma Gamache (Abbotsford, B.C.) led all players with 21 digs.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The first set was even until 21-21, with the two teams going back and forth with slight leads. Then Wesmen’s Laube went back to the service line for four straight serves to lead Winnipeg to a 25-22 opening-set win. TWU hit at .053 (12-9-57), while Winnipeg hit at .151 (13-5-53).
 
In the second set TWU took an early 8-6 lead and slowly extended their margin. The Spartans expanded their lead to 16-12, and 22-15, before taking the set 25-17. TWU improved their attack to .350 (18-4-40), while Winnipeg hit at .119 (11-6-42).
 
Winnipeg came out strong to start the third set, and quickly jumped out to an 8-1 lead. The Wesmen maintained their lead to 14-7. Then, paced by five straight serves, including three straight service aces by TWU’s Plouffe, the Spartans took the momentum from the Wesmen. TWU rallied past Winnipeg to take a 17-16 lead, and force the Wesmen into a timeout. The Spartans continued to roll out of the break, as they took the third set 25-18 to lead the match 2-1. TWU hit at .343 (14-2-35), while Winnipeg hit at .140 (13-7-43).
 
The Wesmen had another solid start to take an early five-point lead, 11-6. But four straight points by the Spartans quickly cut the lead to one point, with TWU trailing 11-10. TWU slowly extended their lead as the Spartans crossed 20 points with a three-point lead 21-18, before finishing the set 25-18 and the match 3-1. TWU hit at .167 (13-6-42), while Winnipeg hit at -.024 (7-8-41).
 
QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Ryan Hofer
“We’re here to learn and improve every game – and I thought we did that tonight. We had to scramble and make adjustments because Winnipeg is a great defensive. It was a fun game to be a part of, and an incredible challenge to adjust to a different style of play while finding different ways to score. Meaghan Mealey and Dora [Komlodi] got a few big blocks towards the end. Nice to get the win. 
 
Meaghan Mealey – TWU Outside-Hitter 
“Our run in the third set really brought us back into the game. We had some key serving runs in what was a great team effort. I thought our middles did a really good job on [Winnipeg’s] outsides too. It built a lot of confidence getting that third-set win. Props to Winnipeg for their defence – they were great defensively, keeping us on our toes during big rallies. It was an awesome game, and we’re excited for another game tomorrow.” 
 
Phil Hudson – Winnipeg Head Coach 
“When you’re leading the match in sets, then in the third set, that turnaround was big for [TWU]. We couldn’t finish the set off, so when they started getting some confidence, they started to attack and serve very well. TWU got in system in the second half of the game, which was difficult to stop. 
 
“Everybody did a lot of good things, and some things that they’ll have to regroup on. Our middles had a good match overall. We just need to be better in order to compete with a top team.” 
 
NOTABLE
• The Spartans are 37-9 lifetime, and 33-9 in conference play against the Wesmen.
• Trinity Western has not lost to Winnipeg, 3-2, since November 13, 2004, in Winnipeg. A 33-match winning streak.
• TWU finished the night hitting at .207 (57-21-174), while Winnipeg finished at .101 (44-26-179).
• The Spartans also had the edge in blocks 8-6.5, with both teams finishing with six service aces.
• Trinity Western advanced to the semi-final with a 2-0 series win over UBC Okanagan, while Winnipeg advanced with a 2-1 series win over Fraser Valley.
• The finished the season No. 1 in CW at 22-2, while Winnipeg finished No. 5 at 18-6.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and the Wesmen will play game two of the best-of-three series tomorrow night at the Langley Events Centre. Game time is set for 6:45 p.m. and can be seen live on CanadaWest.TV.

-CW-