KAMLOOPS, British Columbia – The No. 8 Trinity Western men's volleyball team won its fourth straight match, earning a 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-19) win over Thompson Rivers Friday at the TRU Gym.

The Spartans (12-9) made short work of the WolfPack (10-13) and in doing so ended TRU's hopes of a Canada West playoff berth. The win also put TWU into a three-way tie for fifth place in the conference, with UBC and Saskatchewan.

Ryan Sclater (Coquitlam, B.C.) led TWU with 17 kills to go with two aces and three blocks. Blake Scheerhoorn (Belleville, Ont.) added 15 kills while committing just one error and hitting .609 for the match. Scheerhoorn also had a team-high six digs. Setter Adam Schriemer (Winnipeg) had 26 assists.

The WolfPack was led by Brad Gunter, who finished with 13 kills, four aces and two blocks. Sam Taylor-Parks and Randy Grundmann added seven kills each.

As a team, TWU's serving continued to improve as the Spartans had eight aces and only seven service errors, while the WolfPack had six aces to 13 errors. TWU hit .377 as a team to TRU's .209. The Spartans also had an 11.5-5 edge in blocks.

"It was a really great performance from the guys," said Spartans coach Ben Josephson. "I think slowly but surely, we cracked them with our service pressure. By the end, they were really off the net and we were able to get good releases on their outside attackers. Then our blockers did a great job of blocking the hard shots and forcing them into tougher balls. When you get a quick one on the road, that's always good and it allows you to recover. Now we're preparing for an absolute grinder tomorrow."

After hitting .520 in the first set, the Spartans edged the WolfPack with a late push. With TWU up 19-18, the Spartans scored six of the next nine points to earn the win. A kill from Leigh Goosen (Kelowna, B.C.) sealed the set.

In the second set, the game was tied 16-16 before the Spartans broke it open with a 5-0 run. The WolfPack climbed back to within one point, at 23-22, but TWU responded with two straight points to finish the set.

The Spartans took a 4-1 lead in the third set and never trailed. The WolfPack evened the set at 10-10, but TWU scored the next three points before pulling away for a six-point win.

TWU and TRU will meet again on Saturday at 6:45 p.m. The match will mark the final CIS match for TRU's Brad Gunter, who is Canada West's all-time leader in points and kills.

"We're honoured to be playing in Brad Gunter's last match," Josephson said. "He's probably the most dominant player I can remember in Canada West. It's going to be fun to coach him in his last game and I'm looking forward to that challenge."

-TW-