WINNIPEG - The No. 1-seeded Trinity Western's men's volleyball team earned a spot in the 2022 U SPORTS Championship semifinals with a 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-19) win over the host Manitoba Bisons Friday at the Investors Group Athletic Centre. 

Brodie Hofer (Langley, B.C.), who was recently named a U SPORTS First Team All-Canadian, led TWU with 13 kills, while Jackson Howe (Calgary) adding 12 kills and two blocks. U SPORTS Player of the Year Derek Epp (Saskatoon) had 38 assists to lead a Spartans offence that hit .444 as a team. Libero Colton Loewen (Abbotsford, B.C.) had a match-high 12 digs. 

Spencer Graham had eight kills to lead the Bisons offensively, who hit .175 as a team. 

TWU will now play in the semifinals Saturday at 8 p.m. (CT) against Université de Sherbrooke after the Vert et Or beat Toronto in four sets in the quarter-finals. The Spartans will be looking to advance to the U SPORTS championship match for the sixth consecutive season. 

The Spartans and Vert et Or have never played against each other at the national championship tournament. Their one and only meeting was Oct. 13, 2001 in a preseason match which the Spartans won in five sets. 

Schedule & Results
Livestream

Mikasa Top Performers Presented by Nike Team: 
Trinity Western: Brodie Hofer
Manitoba: Darian Koskie

NOTABLE

• TWU now has a 3-0 record all-time against Manitoba at the national championship tournament. 
• The Spartans are 34-1 against U SPORTS competition this year, including preseason, regualar season and playoffs.
• With McMaster falling to Calgary in the quarter-finals, the Spartans won't face the Marauders at the national tournament for the first time since 2014. TWU and McMaster have played each other in each of the previuos five U SPORTS championships, with TWU winning all five matches. 

QUOTABLE
TWU Setter Derek Epp



TWU Head Coach Ben Josephson
"We had three good phases, one medium phase and one bad phase. That was good enough to get through this game, but it won't be good enough to get through the semifinal. 

"Reception, serving and blocking were really good. Transition was medium and sideout offence wasn't good. We just missed connections too many times. Our middle pipe especially wasn't good enough. Our hitters made sure not to make errors, so we were able to play on, and our block defence phase was so good, we were able to stay in the game. Our serving phase was awesome to allow us to separate. The phases that were great were enough to separate. The phases that were weak, we overcame them. So, it was okay. 

"Some of these guys haven't played in a national tournament game before. We went around the room the other day and I asked all the guys what it felt like in their first game. They all recounted how nervous they were and how much of a blur it is. So there are things like that and the nerves that you have that you can't really be prepared for in your first one. We saw some really uncharacteristic stuff from some of our guys with simple things that they've been great at all week. But now that the first game is out of the way, we can get ready for the semifinal. 

"Hopefully we settle into our rhythm. The goal is a three-day build. You start at as high of a level as you can and then get better through the match and be better the next day than you were the first day and so on. It was a decent start. We need to be good tomorrow and great on Sunday and hopefully being good tomorrow is enough." 



-TW-