LANGLEY, B.C. – Despite rallying from a two-set deficit, the defending conference champion Trinity Western Spartans fell 3-2 (25-21, 25-21, 11-25, 17-25, 15-8) to Thompson Rivers in Game 1 of the Canada West Semifinals Thursday at the Langley Events Centre.
 
The loss snapped a collective 10-game win streak for No. 1 ranked TWU, after defeating the Winnipeg Wesmen in the conference quarter-finals last weekend. The win was the third consecutive in the playoffs for Thompson Rivers, as the Wolfpack are now one win away from the Canada West Final.
 
Hilary Howe (Calgary) had 17 kills, two service aces and four digs for the Spartans, while Mikaelyn Sych (Airdrie, Alta.) added four service aces and hit .286. Dora Komlodi (Calgary) added a team-high 28 assists while Emma Gamache (Langley) contributed 14 digs.
 
The Wolfpack were led by Kendra Finch, scoring game-highs in kills (19), digs (16), while hitting .348. Olga Savenchuk added nine kills and 13 digs for Thompson Rivers.
 
After the two teams split the opening two points, the Wolfpack went on a 7-1 run to take a commanding 8-2 first set lead. After Thompson Rivers took a 17-8 lead, the Spartans fought back. Led by three consecutive service aces Sych helped TWU score eight consecutive points to bring the score to 17-16. Despite the Spartans tying it up late at 21-21, the Wolfpack scored four straight to win the set 25-21.
 
A Howe kill gave TWU its first lead of the second set at 9-8, before the Wolfpack would regain the lead at 14-13. After both teams again traded leads, Thompson Rivers would go on a 7-2 run after a timeout to win the second 25-21. The Spartans hit .033 (8-7-30) in the second set compared to the Wolfpack's .240 (11-5-25).
 
The Spartans jumped out to an early 5-0 lead top open the third, before consecutive service aces from Olivia Heinen (Langley) helped give the home side a 15-4 lead. The Spartans would outscore the Wolfpack 10-7 for the remainder of the set to take it 25-11.
 
The Spartans kept their momentum going into the fourth set, outscoring the Wolfpack 25-17 to take the third. TWU continued improving its efficiency in the game, hitting .226 (12-5-31) while Thompson Rivers hit .062 (7-5-32). 
 
TWU took the opening point in the fifth and final set, but the Wolfpack responded by taking the next four to take a 4-1 lead. Thompson Rivers would lead the rest of the way  
 
The Wolfpack held a 16.0 to 7.0 advantage in total team blocks.
 
QUOTABLE
Ryan Hofer – TWU Head Coach
 
"We struggled to find our serving rhythm through the opening two sets, but once we figured that out we were able to put some more pressure on them from the baseline. They were pressuring us frequently and did that for the whole night. Our team is hungry, and we know there is a different level of consistency they can play with over the course of an entire match. They're excited and looking forward to showing that tomorrow.
 
"I loved how our team worked through the adversity of not being able to find our serves in the first two sets and then found it in the third and fourth. I thought we did a good job of staying aggressive tonight and hopefully we can keep that up tomorrow."
 
NOTABLE

• TWU was coming off a pair of home victories over Winnipeg in their quarter-final matchup last week (3-1, 3-0), while the WolfPack swept their series against MacEwan on the road (3-1, 3-2). 
• The Spartans had won a collective 10 consecutive games across the regular season and playoffs, including defeating Thompson Rivers in their regular season finale two weeks ago (Feb. 14-15) in Kamloops. 
• Spartans outside Hilary Howe (Calgary) continued rolling after recording a collective 32 kills and hitting .441 over last weekend. Howe ranked second in regular season kills-per set (3.95). 
• TWU fell to a 30-3 record overall against the WolfPack, breaking a previous nine-game win streak against Thompson Rivers.

 
NEXT UP
The Spartans will look to even the series in Game 2 against the Wolfpack Friday (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.
 
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