MEN'S VOLLEYBALL
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2014
TRINITY WESTERN (3) THOMPSON RIVERS (1)
(17-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-21)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPARTANS BEAT TRU IN SEASON OPENER 

LANGLEY, British Columbia – In their first game of the season, the Spartans came out on the winning end of an intense four set match against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack (17-25, 25-16, 25-19, 25-21) Friday at the Langley Events Centre.

The Spartans gave up the first set of the game to Thompson Rivers as they adjusted to a shifted formation, which was necessitated because of an injury to Nick Del Bianco (Langley, B.C.). Momentum switched when it came to sets two through four however, and Trinity Western swept the rest of the match.

"Nick Del Bianco got hurt in warm up and he's a big part of our offence, so we changed some things in our formation and our plan while TRU was hitting warm-ups," said Spartans head coach Ben Josephson. "So I think we got a little gun shy and weren't sure of what we were doing and then they came out hot and we got some nerves in front of our home crowd and it being the first game of the year. I think it was a combination of all those things and then again we had a really great opponent, and Brad (Gunter, TRU) is the best player in the country, so they got hot and they played great and we were a bit on our heels. 

"In the second set we just found a little bit more rhythm and then played better volleyball and then the momentum started swinging our way a little bit."

Despite his injury, Del Bianco still managed to contribute nine kills in the game.

Trinity Western made a total of 13 team blocks, while TRU only mustered five.

"I thought that we got contributions from all seven guys. When your best player and the guy you rely on and get your scoring the most from gets hurt, everyone has got to pick up just a little bit," Josephson said. "So I really thought the other six guys picked up a bigger piece of the pie than they are used to and covered for Nick's injury. I thought it was a great team win, I don't think any one guy stood out."

While the Spartan each took responsibility for points scored, Blake Scheerhoorn (Belleville, Ont.) led the team with 14 kills, Adam Schriemer (Winnipeg, Man.) managed 35 assists and 12 digs and Branden Schmidt (De Winton, Alta.) had a match-high three aces. TRU's Gunter led the match with 25 kills.

The first set of the game proved to be a tough one for the Spartans who started the set trailing 5-0. The first three Spartans points came from Ryan Sclater (Port Coquitlam, B.C.) who put up two kills as well as a solid block against TRU, to make it 6-3. But this set was TRU's from the outset as Gunter led the set with seven kills to help TRU to the 25-17 win. Trinity Western hit .034 compared to TRU who hit .310.

The second set looked more promising for the Spartans as they scored the first point and then a Sclater ace gave TWU a 3-1 lead. The Spartans never trailed the rest of the set and pulled away in the late stages. The set point was scored by newcomer Carter Bergen (Winnipeg, Man.) who made his first kill of the season and sealed the set at 25-16. Trinity Western improved upon their hitting from the first set, reaching .207, while TRU dropped down to .273.

TWU took the lead early in the third set and never looked back, claiming the set 25-19. TWU went on a six-point streak during the set held the lead largely throughout. Trinity Western added another five team blocks during the set, while TRU only managed one. Scheerhoorn managed another five kills during the set, while Gunter added eight to his total for TRU.

The last set of the match played out much like the third, with TWU leading early on and hanging on to their lead throughout the set, before winning it 25-21. TWU built 9-5 lead and kept TRU at a two point distance for the rest of the set. Kills by both Schriemer and Del Bianco helped the Spartans claim set and the match.

"It's going to be a heck of a game tomorrow," said Josephson. "TRU is going to adjust and now that they know that Nick is hurt, so it's going to be a lot of fun to try to figure out how to win tomorrow."

The Spartans and WolfPack meet in a rematch Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Langley Event Centre.

Match Notes: TWU ended the game with a hitting percent of .261 (47-16-119) compared to TRU's .216 (50-25-116) percent.
-TW-