VANCOUVER – The No. 4-ranked Trinity Western Spartans suffered their first loss of the regular season, losing 3-0 (25-17, 25-20, 25-21) against No. 1 UBC Friday at War Memorial Gym.
 
The Spartans fall to 4-1 on the season, while UBC improves to 5-0.
 
Faye Murray (Rosenort, Man.) led the Spartans in kills with nine kills, while Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.) had eight. First-year setter Tayana Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.) and Sydney Gill (St. Catharines, Ont.) had 11 assists each while Gill and Mikayla McBain (Burlington, Ont.) had nine digs apiece.
 
While TWU found their offensive rhythm in the third set, hitting .343 after hitting .100 and .111 in the first two sets, the Spartans were unable to find a way to send the match beyond the minimum.
 
Conversly, UBC hit . 351 over the course of the evening, including a match-high .429 in the opening set.
 
Lucy Borowski had a match-high 14 kills, while libero Olivia Furlan had 18 digs.
 
QUOTABLE
Brynden MacTavish, TWU Assistant Coach
"Tonight we ran into some trouble getting out of the gate to establish our game. UBC played a great match and tested us from start to finish. We get to evaluate and take the good parts from tonight and what we want to improve upon as a group for next Friday's rematch to give a better showing."
 
NOTABLE
·       The Spartans are now 2-1 against UBC this year, having earned two wins against the T-Birds in preseason.
·       Since 2018, TWU and UBC have combined to win eight of the last nine banners on offer, including Canada West and U SPORTS. Over that span, the Spartans have won four CW titles and one U SPORTS title, while UBC has won three U SPORTS championships. Manitoba is the only other CW school to win a banner over the last six years, having won the CW championship last year.
 
UP NEXT
TWU and UBC will play the rematch of their home-and-home series Nov. 8 at the Langley Events Centre.
 
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 34 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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