CALGARY, Alberta – The No. 1 seed, and Canada West champion, Trinity Western Spartans put together a dominating performance as they sweep the McGill Martlets 3-0 to a place in Sunday's U SPORTS national championship match.
 
The top-ranked Spartans put their offensive depth on full display against the Martlets, as Trinity Western had four separate players finish with at least eight kills over the three sets. Savannah Purdy had a team-high nine kills, while Meaghan Mealy, Ansah Odoom and Avery Heppell each added eight of their own. McGill's best source of offence all night was Victoria Iannotti who had a team-high nine kills. Iannotti was also the Martlets' most efficient attacker, leading the team with a .174 hit percentage.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
Trinity Western took control of the first set early and never looked back. TWU led McGill 5-1 before taking a 16-9 lead into the technical timeout. The Spartans continued to roll through the set as they took a 1-0 lead with a 25-12 opening set victory. TWU finished the first set hitting .480 (13-1-25), while McGill hit at -.037 (7-8-27).
 
The Spartans and the Martlets were more even to start the second set. But with TWU leading by three points, 11-8, the Spartans would use a 5-2 run to take a 16-10 lead into the break. From there the Spartans played side-out ball to take the second set 25-19 and a 2-0 sets lead. In the second set TWU hit at .333 (15-3-36), while McGill improved to .162 (11-5-37).
 
TWU carried the momentum into the final set and dominated McGill to take an 11-3 lead, before leading 16-7 at the technical timeout. The Martlets were never able to get close to the Spartans in the final set as TWU took the match 3-0 with a 25-13. In the final set the Spartans hit at .324 (14-2-37), while the Martlets dropped to –.029 (6-7-34).
 
NOTABLE

• Tonight's match is the first time that the Spartans and the Martlets have met at the U SPORTS championship. TWU is 4-4 lifetime against RSEQ schools at nationals.
• It was all Spartans from start to finish, as they finished with a 0.367 (42-9-98) hit percentage compared to the Martlets' 0.41 (24-20-98).
• TWU finished the night with a 9-1 edge in total blocks, a 7-1 edge in aces, a 42-24 edge in kills, and a 48-43 edge in digs.
• Mikasa Top Performers Presented by Team Nike: TWU Olivia Heinen, McGill  Victoria Iannotti

QUOTABLE
TWU Head Coach Ryan Hofer
"We scrambled really well out there tonight. I thought our serve receive held up really, really well. They served Emma Gamache all night and she passed dimes. She did a really nice job on the serve receive line for us. I thought our serving package was really good this evening and I thought our girls made really good tugs on the ball. They hit the gaps, they hit seams, and they made really efficient shots."
 
On how the team was playing well in every aspect of their game.
"Our team is playing like a unit out there. They are communicating really well. They are connecting with one and other, they have invested in each other in relationships on and off the floor and it creates a lot of trust and it shows in how they play together."
 
TWU Setter Olivia Heinen
On running the offence
"It was a blast tonight. We were firing from all cylinders. I felt so much stress setting every one of my girls. Our passing was amazing so it really gave me a lot of freedom to go wherever I wanted. And the girls did really well and I'm really proud of them."
 
On playing Mount Royal – another local Calgary team.
"Our theme this year has been "tough and together" And it think it will be a really big focus for us tomorrow. Just focusing on us and looking each other in the eyes. Really cheering and celebrating the big points and drowning out everyone else and just be in our own little world. Which is a lot of fun and we are really excited about tomorrow's match."

UP NEXT
The Spartans will now play in the U SPORTS championship against the Mount Royal Cougars. The match will be played at 6 p.m. MT and can be seen live on CBCsports.ca. McGill moves on to the bronze medal match to face the Alberta Pandas scheduled for 3 p.m. Saturday from the Jack Simpson Gym.
 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men's rugby. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 29 Canada West team championships.
 
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