LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western's men's volleyball team eyes its sixth Canada West championship in program history as they host the Alberta Golden Bears Saturday (8:30 p.m.) at the Langley Events Centre.
WEEKEND PREVIEW
Mar. 7 vs. Alberta (18-4, 4-1) – Langley Events Centre | 8:30 p.m. (PT) |
WATCH
THE WEEKEND STORY
- The Spartans are coming off a thrilling 3-game series win over last years' conference champion, the Brandon Bobcats. TWU came capped the series with a 3-1 victory in Game 3 Saturday.
- Alberta also won its semifinal series in three games, defeating UBC 3-1 at home in Game 3.
- Eric Loeppky (Steinbach, Man.) leads a stacked Trinity Western roster, with he and Derek Epp (Saskatoon, Sask.) first team conference all-stars and Pearson Eshenko (Banff, Alta.) a second team all-star.
- The Golden Bears feature two first all-stars on their roster, with setter Max Elgert and outside Jackson Kennedy players to watch Saturday. Elgert ranked second in assists-per set (10.21) and aces-per set (0.53) while Kennedy ranked fourth in hitting percentage (.354) this season.
- Alberta has won a conference-best 14 championships, with its last win coming in 2015.
- TWU has won eight of its last 10 games against Alberta, splitting games this season in Edmonton (Oct. 18-19, 2020).
BY THE NUMBERS
Trinity Western
Team Stats (rank in CW)
Points Per Set: 17.2 (1
st)
Team Hitting Percentage: .380 (1
st)
Individual Stats (rank in CW)
Kills Per Set: 3.89 –
Eric Loeppky (2
nd)
Hitting Percentage: .443 –
Eric Loeppky (1
st)
Assists Per Set: 10.29 –
Derek Epp (1
st)
Blocks Per Set: 1.42 –
Pearson Eshenko (1
st)
Alberta
Team Stats (rank in CW)
Points Per Set: 16.6 (3
rd)
Team Hitting Percentage: .319 (3
rd)
Individual Stats (rank in CW)
Kills Per Set: 3.24 – Jackson Kennedy (8
th)
Hitting Percentage: .354 – Jackson Kennedy (4
th)
Assists Per Set: 10.21 – Max Elgert (2
nd)
Blocks Per Set: 1.39 – George Hobern (2
nd)
TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS (20-2, 4-1)
Canada West Standings: 1
st
Last Weekend: vs. Brandon (W 3-0, L 3-2, W 3-1)
Streak: W1
Regular Season Form: W-W-W-L-W
ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS (18-4, 4-1)
Canada West Standings: 2
nd
Last Weekend: vs. UBC (W 3-0, L 3-2, W 3-1)
Streak: W1
Regular Season Form: W-W-W-L-W
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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