LANGLEY, British Columbia – The No. 7 Trinity Western Spartans took the final three sets to earn a 3-1 victory over the UBC Okanagan Heat Friday night at the Langley Events Centre – Building B in Langley, B.C. The 22-25, 25-13, 27-25, 25-17 win improves the Spartans to 5-2, while the loss drops the Heat to 2-3.
 
Third-year outside Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.) with 19 kills, 11 digs, and two blocks, and fourth-year middle Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) with 16 kills, two aces, and two digs led the Spartans. Olivia Boulding with 11 kills, five digs, and one ace, and Amaya Perry with nine kills, and 10 digs led the Heat.
 
TWU fourth-year libero Mikayla McBain (Burlington, Ont.) led all players with 13 digs.
 
First-year setter Tayana Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.) ran the Spartans' attack and finished with 45 set assists, while Kylan Finseth led the Heat attack and finished with 30 set assists.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans finish the two-match series with the UBC Okanagan Heat tomorrow evening in Building B at the Langley Events Centre. The match time is 4 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
TWU lead assistant coach Brynden MacTavish
"Really happy with our fight tonight. We got pushed from start to finish by a very good team, and it required us to play together and stay aggressive. Kaylee was a rock for us tonight attacking and leadership, Maryn was super-efficient on lots of volume, and we got contributions in key moments from a lot of players. The challenge for us is to be a bit better tomorrow, while still playing together."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans had a strong start to the opening set and quickly took a three-point lead, 11-8. But the Heat responded and used a 4-1 run to tie the set at 12-12. TWU regained a two-point lead 15-13, but again UBC O came back with authority to take a 22-19 lead. The Spartans could not close the gap and dropped the opening set 25-22. TWU hit at .367 (15-4-30) in the opening set, while UBC O hit at .400 (11-1-25). The Heat also had a 5-1 edge in service aces.
 
Trinity Western found their game in the second set and jumped out to a sizable 12-4 lead to start the set. UBC Okanagan closed the deficit to six-points, 16-10, but were unable to get closer. The Spartans closed out the set with a 9-3 run to take the second set 25-13 and even the match at 1-1. TWU hit at .308 (11-3-26), while UBC O hit at .000 (7-7-28). The Spartans also had a 5-0 edge in service aces.
 
The third set was a microcosm of the first two sets. UBC Okanagan took an early 5-1 lead, but TWU came back with an 11-2 run to take a 12-7 lead. But the Heat recovered and cut the Spartan lead to one point, trailing 19-18, with an 11-6 run. From there, it was a side-out game. TWU had a set point at 24-22, but UBC O came back with three straight to get to their first set point at 25-24. After a long rally, TWU tied the set at 25-25. Plouffe gave TWU back-to-back points to take the third set 27-25 and a 2-1 set lead. TWU hit at .154 (14-8-39), while UBC Okanagan hit at .321 (13-4-28). The Spartans had a 5-2 edge in service aces.
 
The fourth set was even throughout the first half, with the teams tied at 11-11, and TWU leading 16-15. But the second half of the set belonged to the Spartans. TWU used a 5-0 run to break open the final set and take a 21-15 lead. The Heat were unable to recover as the Spartans took the fourth set 25-17 and the match 3-1. TWU hit at .216 (15-7-37) in the final set, while UBC O hit at -.074 (4-6-27).
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night hitting .250 (55-22-132), while the Heat hit at .157 (35-18-108).
• TWU finished with eight blocks, while UBC Okanagan finished with 11.
• The Heat had nine service aces, while the Spartans had 12 aces.
• Last weekend at home the Spartans lost 3-0 to the No. 1 Thunderbirds at the Langley Events Centre, while the Heat were swept by the No. 4 Thompson Rivers WolfPack 3-0, and 3-1 in Kamloops, B.C.
• TWU is currently 31-5 lifetime against the Heat. TWU's last loss to UBC Okanagan in conference play was 3-1 on October 18, 2017, at the Langley Events Centre.
• The Spartans are currently on a 15-match winning streak against the Heat. 

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 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 U 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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