LANGLEY, B.C. – The Spartans were once again the victors in a rematch of last seasons' U SPORTS national championship game, defeating Brandon in four sets (25-19. 25-18, 18-25, 25-23) Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
 
TWU (18-1) has now won 17 consecutive games, with its last loss in conference play coming Oct. 19, 2019 on the road against Alberta (3-2).
 
The Bobcats meanwhile have lost five games in a row, as their record falls to 11-6 with the loss.
 
Trinity Western's Eric Loeppky (Steinbach, Man.) had 21 kills and hit .455, while Derek Epp (Saskatoon) contributed a game-high 45 assists.
 
Elliott Viles led the way for Brandon offensively, recording 11 kills, seven digs and two serving aces. Mason Metcalf meanwhile had nine kills and hit .412 for the Bobcats. 
 
After the Spartans jumped out to an early first set lead, the Bobcats fought back to lead 16-13 midway through the set. TWU then tied up the set 16-16, as the Spartans would then go on a 7-1 run before eventually taking the opening set 25-19.
 
TWU opened the second set with a lead and never looked back, taking it 25-18. The Spartans hit an impressive .455 as a team in the second, as Loeppky added seven more kills on the night. 
 
Brandon then began to take form in the third set, and after a tied set at 7-7 the Bobcats went on a 9-3 run. They would then close out the third set up 25-18 to bring the game up to 2-1. After hitting .455 in the second set, the Spartans regressed to a .050 third set (9-8-20).
 
With the Spartans looking to close out in four sets and Bobcats looking to stay alive, the fourth set brought a tight finish. After both teams traded leads throughout the near entirety of the set, Brandon seemingly broke through to take a 22-19 lead late.
 
The Spartans however had different plans, picking up five of the next six points before eventually taking the fourth and final set 25-23. Loeppky added seven more kills in the final set. 
 
QUOTABLE
Ben Josephson – TWU Head Coach
 
"I'm glad they weren't at full strength, because if they were, we're not winning this game. We had way too many undisciplined plays tonight, and if we keep playing like that, we will not survive the Canada West Playoffs. 
 
"We looked like a common volleyball team. All season long we've talked about being uncommon, like winning back to back titles, being the No. 1 team and still winning, having a target on your back and still winning. When we act like a common volleyball team, we will get a common result.
 
"Brandon is a fantastic volleyball team – and they showed it tonight. They started off slow but found their rhythm, but we treated the match like a common team and frankly, we probably should have lost in four sets. I'm disappointed because I truly do believe we're an uncommon team, but tonight we surely didn't act like it. Let's hope tomorrow we see something different."
 
NOTABLE

• TWU's Eric Loeppky now sits just nine kills back of Nicholas Del Bianco (2010-2014) for sole possession of third all-time in program kills. In last Friday's win, Loeppky broke the conference career aces record with his 147^th career ace.
• TWU now holds a 16-9 all-time record against Brandon in conference play.  
• It was a rematch of last season's U SPORTS national championship game, where TWU won in straight sets in Quebec City (Mar. 17, 2019).

 
NEXT UP
The Spartans and Bobcats have a rematch Saturday (7 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-