LANGLEY, B.C. –  The Spartans women's volleyball team continued their winning ways at home, defeating Brandon in straight sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-15) Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
 
TWU (19-2) has now won five games in a row, and sit first in the Canada West standings.

The Spartans picked up 17 service aces in the match, which matched second most all-time in a single game. It trails only the 18 set on Nov. 10, 2012 against Thompson Rivers.
 
Dora Komlodi (Calgary) finished with 14 assists and four service aces for TWU, while Hilary Howe (Calgary) added a game-high 10 kills. Avery Heppell (Langley) contributed four service aces and six kills for the conference-leading Spartans.
 
The Bobcats (4-15) were led by Ravyn Wiebe on attack, who contributed nine kills, four service aces and two digs. Caitlin Le added eight digs, while Nicole Ashauer had four kills and three service aces in the loss. 
 
Brandon scored first to open the first set, but the Spartans countered with a 9-1 run to take a 9-3 lead. After the Bobcats got to within five points late, TWU closed out with a 25-18 first set win. Komlodi had four first set service aces for the Spartans, who finished the set hitting .280 (11-4-25) compared to Brandon's .222 (8-4-18).
 
After TWU opened the second set on a 5-1 run, the Bobcats countered scoring 15 of the next 21 points to take a 15-11 lead. The No. 1 Spartans countered however, going on a 11-2 run of their own and taking a commanding 22-17 lead. TWU would once again close out the set, winning 25-22.
 
After an early 1-1 tie in the third set, TWU would take control. Led by three service aces from Olivia Heinen (Langley) TWU would lead the rest of the way and take the third set 25-15 for the home court victory. The Spartans hit .364 (11-3-22) in the final set, while the Bobcats hit just .053 (6-5-19).
 
QUOTABLE
Ryan Hofer – TWU Head Coach
 
"I think our team did a great job today at the baseline and putting pressure on their serve. 17 aces is a lot of serving volume that is putting them under pressure. Our in-percentage could have been a little higher today, so that's something we'll try to improve. Brandon also did a good job – they got 10 aces on us so we'll look to see how we can tidy that up and reduce those numbers.
 
On Senior Weekend
"For us to have the depth for Jessica Bailey to come and hit .571 is awesome. Michaella Crema is also doing an outstanding job defensively for us, between her and Emma Gamache we have a nice combination."
 
NOTABLE

• TWU's Hilary Howe (Calgary) came into the match leading the conference in kills (316), while Avery Heppell (Langley) led in hitting percentage (.346), and Mikaelyn Sych (Airdrie, Alta.) led in blocks-per set (1.31). 
• Brandon has now lost 10 consecutive conference games against TWU, with its last win over the Spartans coming Feb. 1, 2014 at home (3-0).
• The Bobcats were looking to get back in the win column after a pair of home losses to Calgary last weekend (3-0, 3-1). 
• TWU has previously recorded 17 services aces in a match twice prior to Friday's win. Feb. 17, 2018 at Thompson Rivers, and Feb. 28, 2019 against Alberta. Both were set in a four-set match.

 
NEXT UP
The Spartans and Bobcats rematch Saturday (5 p.m. PT) at the Langley Events Centre. 

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-