LANGLEY, British Columbia – The No. 5 Trinity Western women's volleyball team completed a weekend sweep of Saskatchewan with a 3-0 (25-8, 25-19, 25-15) win on senior athlete appreciation night Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.

On a night when all six graduating senior athletes started in their final regular season home game, TWU hit .359 as a team and improved to 17-5 on the season. The Spartans now enter the final weekend of the regular season in a three-way tie for first place in Canada West, along with Alberta and UBC Okanagan.

The loss drops Saskatchewan to 5-17.

With all six senior athletes on the floor to start the match, the veterans set the tone for an impressive night by taking the first set 25-8. From there, TWU never let up, cruising to convincing wins in both the second and third sets.

"I have a group of seniors that I am so proud of," said Spartans coach Ryan Hofer. "It was so exciting to see them go out there and play hard for each other. It's been a rewarding time with those girls and it's been a lot of fun. It's been a really rich experience and it's been a pleasure to have these five years with them. I'm glad they could it top it off with a great game."

Royal Richardson (Rocky Mountain House, Alta.) led the way for TWU with 13 kills and six blocks. Alicia Perrin (Creston, B.C.) added 11 kills and six blocks. Lauren Moncks (Standard, Alta.) led the team with 22 assists while also collecting four blocks. Libero Kristen Moncks (Standard) had a team-high eight digs.

The Huskies were led by Jenelle Sokoloski, who had five kills. Jennifer Hueser had a match-high nine digs.

"We attacked well tonight," Hofer said. "Offensively we had a really good night. We blocked well and we followed a game plan tonight just a little bit better than last night and it really gave us opportunities to score points with our block or, at least, recycle it and bang it back."

The Spartans raced out to a 9-2 lead in the first set and never slowed down. Hitting .542 as a team and committing just one attack error, TWU pulled away for a 25-8 win.

The second set looked like it might turn into a similar result as the Spartans took a 21-12 lead. However, Saskatchewan battled back to make it 23-19 and forced the Spartans into a timeout. But out of the timeout, TWU tallied back-to-back kills to finish the set up by six. Richardson ended the set with her 10th kill of the night.

The Spartans raced out to a 6-1 lead in the third set and never trailed. TWU held Saskatchewan to just one kill and forced the Huskies to hit -.476 in the final set as the Spartans earned a 10-point win. Richardson earned the winning kill.

The Spartans are back in action for their final regular season weekend when they travel to play Winnipeg Feb. 6-7. Saskatchewan will host Thompson Rivers next weekend.

Game Notes: The Spartans honoured graduating seniors Carly Hamilton, Casie Gano, Lauren Moncks, Kristen Moncks, Perrin and Richardson with a post-game ceremony…first-year Alison Quiring (Brandon, Man.) earned her first kill as a Spartan late in the third set…the Spartans collected 13 blocks to Saskatchewan's four. TWU also had a 5-2 edge in aces…TWU can finish anywhere from first to third in Canada West…the first tiebreaker in sets won/loss differential.

-TW-