VANCOUVER – After losing in five sets Friday, the No. 5 Trinity Western women's volleyball team responded with a convincing 3-0 (25-13, 25-20, 25-18) over No. 9 UBC to split the weekend series at War Memorial Gym.

The bounce back win improves TWU to 15-5, which is one game behind Canada West co-leaders Alberta and UBC Okanagan.  The T-Birds remain in sixth place with a record of 11-9.
 
Sophie Carpentier (Ottawa) nabbed 16 kills and five digs for TWU. She was followed by teammate Alicia Perrin (Creston, B.C.), who finished with 10 kills, four digs, and four blocks.
 
UBC's Lisa Barclay recorded nine kills and 11 digs on the night.

After TWU hit just .096 and UBC hit .228 in Friday's match, the roles were reversed Saturday with the Spartans hitting .340 as a team while UBC hit .056.

This is just the second time in the Spartans history that they have knocked off UBC in three sets in the regular season. The last time TWU beat the Thunderbirds in three sets was Feb. 8, 2008. TWU has never beat UBC 3-0 at War Memorial Gym.
 
Elly Wendel (Caronport, Sask.) capped off an early 7-2 run for TWU in the opening set with a kill that made it 11-5 for the visitors. An Abbey Keeping service ace and a Barclay kill closed the Thunderbirds to within three points at 12-9 but the Spartans replied by taking the next six to regain control of the set, which eventually finished at 25-13.
 
The second set was more of a back-and-forth affair with both teams able to go on a number of mini-runs. The set was tied 14 times but after UBC's Alissa Coulter tied the game at 19-19, TWU won six of the next seven points to triumph.
 
The Spartans opened the third set strong as well, jumping out to a 16-7 advantage at the technical timeout. A late 8-3 run by UBC closed the gap to five points at 23-18 but TWU was able finish off the match in straight sets.
 
Trinity Western will return to Langley Jan. 30-31 to host Saskatchewan in the Spartans final home game of the regular season game. The T-Birds hit the road next weekend to take on the University of Calgary Dinos.
 
-TW-