TORONTO – The defending U SPORTS champion and No. 1-ranked Trinity Western men's volleyball team will open the Can Am Volleyball Holiday Showcase against back-to-back defending NCAA champion Long Beach State Saturday (7 p.m. ET) at the Toronto Pan Am Sport Centre. 

The Spartans, who have won three of the last four national titles, will also take on UCLA (Dec. 28 at 7 p.m. ET) and Lewis University (Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. ET) as part of the highly-anticipated cross-border competition. 

WATCH: www.sportscanada.tv. (use the code cahvs25 for a 25% discount).

NEED TO KNOW
•    The Can Am Volleyball Holiday Showcase features four Canadian sides, with the University of Alberta, McMaster University and Ryerson University joining TWU against four high-profile NCAA teams, including Long Beach State, UCLA, Lewi and Ohio State.
•    TWU will play three of the top six teams featured in the AVCA Division I-II Coaches preseason poll, with UCLA opening this year ranked No. 2, Long Beach State No. 4 and Lewis No. 6. 
•    The Spartans are 11-1 through the fall semester, which has them tied for first in Canada West. 
•    TWU finished the semester riding a 10-match winning streak, which includes winning a school record 30 consecutive sets. 
•    The Spartans roster will feature two players who have already represented Canada with the senior men's team, with left side Eric Loeppky (Steinbach, Man.) and setter Derek Epp (Saskatoon) having competed in this summer's FIVB Volleyball Nations League and the FIVB World Cup 2019 respectively.
•    TWU also has three players who played with Canada at the FIVB U21 World Championship 2019, including Jesse Elser (Calgary), Matias Elser (Calgary) and Brodie Hofer (Langley, B.C.).
•    Through the first half of the year, the Spartans are amongst the statistical leaders in most categories in Canada West, with Loeppky leading the conference in hitting percentage (.430), Pearce Eshenko (Banff, Alta.) tops in blocks per set (1.53), Epp (Saskatoon) leading in assists per set (10.23) and Jesse Elser second in aces per set (0.67).
•    UCLA is led by two-time First-Team All-American middle Daenan Gyimah, who also represented Canada in this year's FIVB Volleyball Nations League.
•    Lewis is led by senior outside Ryan Coenen, who is a three-time AVCA Second-Team All-American.
•    Amongst the Canadian teams, McMaster is currently ranked No. 4 and Alberta is No. 9 in the U SPORTS Top 10. 
•    The last time TWU took on an American foe was in 2009-10, when the Spartans played both UCLA and the University of the Pacific at Calgary's Dino Cup. TWU finished that year's tournament with a 3-0 record against its NCAA opponents, beating UCLA once (3-0) and Pacific twice (3-2 and 3-0).
•    The Spartans have previously played all three teams it will face in the Can Am Showcase, owning a 2-1 record against Long Beach, a 3-2 record against UCLA and a 1-2 record against Lewis.
•    TWU has an all-time record of 20-19 against NCAA opponents.

TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE (ALL TIMES EST)
Sat. Dec. 28
2 p.m. – Lewis vs. Ryerson Rams
4:30 p.m. – Ohio State vs. Alberta Golden Bears
7 p.m. – Long Beach State vs. Trinity Western Spartans

Sun. Dec. 29
2 p.m. – UCLA vs. Ryerson Rams
4:30 p.m. – Ohio State vs. McMaster Marauders
7 p.m. – UCLA vs. Trinity Western Spartans

Mon. Dec. 30
2 p.m. – Ohio State vs. Ryerson Rams
4:30 p.m. – Lewis vs. McMaster Marauders
7 p.m. – Long Beach State vs. Alberta Golden Bears

Tues., Dec. 31 (matches streamed LIVE on www.cbc.ca/sports)
11:30 a.m. – Long Beach State vs. McMaster Marauders
2 p.m. – Lewis vs. Trinity Western Spartans
4:30 p.m. – UCLA vs. Alberta Golden Bears

TWU'S ALL-TIME RECORD vs. NCAA DIV. I OPPONENTS  
BYU – 2-2
Cal State Northridge – 1-1 
George Mason – 0-1 
Lewis – 1-2 
Long Beach State – 2-1 
Pacific – 3-1 
Pepperdine – 3-4
Purdue Fort Wayne – 2-0 
Stanford – 0-1 
UC Irvine – 0-1 
UCLA – 3-2
UC Santa Barbara – 1-2 
USC – 2-1 

About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada's premier Christian liberal arts university dedicated to equipping students to find and fulfill their purpose in life. It is a fully accredited research institution offering liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. TWU emphasizes academic excellence, research, and student engagement in a vibrant faith community devoted to supporting godly leaders seeking to have a transformational impact on culture.

About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) in men's hockey and as an independent team in men's rugby. The men's and women's hockey programs will begin playing in Canada West and U SPORTS in 2020-21. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 27 Canada West team championships and two BCIHL championships.

-TW-