OTTAWA – The Trinity Western men's volleyball program will once again be well-represented on the international stage this week, as six Spartans will don the Maple Leaf at TD Place in Ottawa in the opening stop of the 2023 Volleyball Nations League.
The Spartans contingent represents nearly half of Canada's 14-man national team roster, with current Spartan
Mathias Elser (Calgary) joined by alums Lucas Van Berkel ('14), Ryan Sclater ('17), Pearce Eshenko ('20),
Jordan Schnitzer ('22) and
Brodie Hofer ('23).
Canada and the "Maple Spartans" open this week's VNL tournament Tuesday against Cuba (8pm ET), before taking on Argentina Friday (8pm ET), the USA Saturday (8pm ET) and Germany Sunday (6pm ET).
The event is streamed at www.cbcsports.ca (https://www.cbc.ca/sports) and VBTV.
All told, TWU has 10 players who were originally named to Canada's 30-man VNL long list, including
Jesse Elser ('23),
Derek Epp ('22),
Jackson Howe ('22) and Eric Loeppky ('20).
The FIVB's Volleyball Nations League (VNL) is a flagship annual volleyball event that was established in 2018. The new format of the competition will see 16 men's and 16 women's teams competing in pools of eight teams during the pool phase.
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 women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 14 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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