JINAN, China – The Trinity Western Spartans played their first Goodwill Tour match against the Shandong Provincial women's volleyball team Wednesday afternoon. The Spartans lost the match 3-0 (25-20, 25-19 and 25-16).

"Shandong is a very gifted and talented team. It was a pleasure to come here to see how they performed and how they played. They had great ball control, they served us tough and passed very well, which put a lot of pressure on us," saidTWU coach Ryan Hofer. "This match is going to help us prepare for our season. Shandong could be one of the best teams that we see all year, so it raises our standard of play and will help us play better in the weeks to come."

On winning or losing matches in China coach Ryan Hofer commented: "For us it is very early in the season and our focus is more about getting better. I honestly do not care about the win loss, but I do want us to compete, to work hard, and not to give up."

Following the match the two teams and the TWU presidential delegation participated in a press conference with local media.

TWU will continue their tour matches Thursday, September 24 against Tianjin University of Technology in Tianjin, China.

Match Notes: TWU arrived in Tianjin, China after a 30-hour day of travel from Vancouver Tuesday…Jinan is over 300 km from Tianjin, where TWU is currently staying and will play further matches.

-TW-