HAMILTON (U SPORTS) – Brodie Hofer (Langley, B.C.), Jesse Elser (Calgary) and Henry Rempel (Swift Current, Sask.) all recorded double-digit kills in the Trinity Western Spartans' 3-0 (26-24, 25-19, 29-27) sweep of the Montréal Carabins in their quarterfinal match at the 2023 U SPORTS Men's Volleyball Championship, presented by Mikasa at Burridge Gymnasium.

Hofer, a Second Team All-Canadian, led the Spartans offensively and finished with 16 kills while adding four digs and one block. Jesse Elser, who was also named a Second Team All-Canadian, and Rempel, who was the Mikasa Player of the Game for TWU, tallied 13 kills in the match, contributing to the Spartans .363 hitting percentage. Mathias Elser (Calgary) recorded 38 assists in the victory, while Rempel led TWU with 10 digs.

Guillaume Bisson had a team-high 13 kills for the Montréal Carabins and added one service ace.

The Spartans will now face the host McMaster Marauders in semifinal action at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Carabins will meet the Saskatchewan Huskies in a consolation semifinal at 1 p.m. ET Saturday. 

The semifinal matchup with the Marauders will mark the seventh time TWU and McMaster have faced each other at the national tournament with the Spartans winning each of their previous six meetings. Saturday's game will be the fourth time TWU and McMaster will play each other at Burridge Gym, with TWU winning a quarter-final in 2007, the national title game in 2016 and a semifinal in 2018.

QUOTABLE 
Adam Schriemer – TWU Head Coach
"We expected that Montreal was a team that wasn't going to go away. I thought that third set was a perfect example of that. Even when we were playing really clean and coming off an efficient second set (TWU hit .483 in the second set), we knew Montreal wasn't going away. 

"One of our game keys on the defensive side was to match them defensively and engage in long rallies. Those Quebec teams are hard to play against and one way we thought we could neutralize one of their strengths was to match their defensive intensity. By outdigging them (39-26), it showed that we did that.

"Henry was a beast in all phases. I thought that was the most consistent his serve has been in a long time. I thought Mathias gave him some good looks but also I thought he was really aggressive in some tough high ball situations. He got us out of trouble in a few cases and he was firing on all cylinders in every phase."

NOTABLE
•    The last time the Spartans saw McMaster at the national championship was in 2019 when TWU beat the Marauders in the quarter-finals. TWU went on to win the national championship, beating Laval in the semifinals and Branon in the final in Laval. 
•    The Spartans have earned all but one of their wins over McMaster in four sets, with a five-set win in 2007.
•    TWU and McMaster met at the national championship tournament every single year from 2015 to 2019.
•    TWU's quarter-final win over Montreal marked the first-ever meeting at the national championship between the Spartans and Carabins. 

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 and varsity disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 13 U SPORTS team championships and 33 Canada West team championships.

About Trinity Western University
Recognized for quality, TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning, holds three Canada Research Chairs, and wins national championships in CIS sports. More importantly, lives are changed at TWU through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education. With a wide array of undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree-completion programs, TWU equips leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.  

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