BRANDON, Manitoba – The No. 3 ranked Trinity Western men's volleyball team was upset in its season-opener on the road as unranked Brandon beat the Spartans 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-16) Friday.

The Bobcats were led by Roy Ching, who had night to remember. The Bobcats captain led Brandon offensively with a career-high 22 kills on 33 attempts and didn't commit a single attack error. He also had six digs and two aces. Ching started the night with nine kills on 11 swings in the first set and never slowed down.

"Roy Ching put up probably the best single performance that I've ever witnessed, for or against us," said Spartans coach Ben Josephson. "He was incredible. Beyond Ching, their team scrapped and played great defence and played with the passion needed to win a game in Canada West. It's a disappointing way to start the season and now it's time to regroup and see if we can compete better tomorrow."

The Bobcats were the better team in all three sets as they hit .507 as a team while also collecting seven blocks.  

The Spartans had a better performance in the second set, hitting .458 as a team, but were bested by a Brandon side that hit .480.

TWU was led by Ryan Sclater (Coquitlam, B.C.), who had 15 kills, and Blake Scheerhoorn (Belleville, Ont.), who had 10 kills and hit .471. Setter Devyn Plett (Winnipeg) had 28 assists in his return to the floor in a starting capacity. Due to injury, Plett hadn't started a game for the Spartans since Jan. 18, 2013. That night, he put together a 60-assist effort against Manitoba.

Along with Ching, it was Brandon's Matt Powell helping lead the offence with 12 kills on 20 swings. Rookie Mason Metcalf impressed in his first conference start, putting up four blocks, while fifth-year setter David Stasica had a match-high 36 assists.

The rematch will go Saturday night at the Brandon University Healthy Living Centre. First serve is scheduled for 6:45 pm.

-TW-