WINNIPEG – For the second night in a row, the No. 5-ranked Trinity Western men's volleyball team dropped a three-set match against Manitoba, losing 25-16, 25-22, 25-23 Saturday at the Investors Group Athletic Centre. 

The loss drops the Spartans to 7-5, while the victory sees the Bisons improve to 6-6 on the season. 

Piers de Greef led the Spartans with 17 kills and a .344 hitting percentage, but it wasn't enough against a hard-serving Manitoba team that had nine aces with just seven errors to TWU's seven aces with 15 errors. Manitoba also had an 11-6 edge in blocks. 

TWU's Kaden Schmidt had 10 kills, while Cory Schoenherr led the Spartans with five blocks. Setter Anselm Rein had 33 assists in the three-set match. Devin Hofsink was impressive in a limited role from the middle, with four kills on five attempts without an attacking error. 

Manitoba's Owen Weekes had a team-high nine kills while Jordon Heppner had seven blocks. Karil Dadash Adeh had a team-high four aces. 

Offensively, TWU had 94 attacks, collecting 39 kills but committing 22 errors for a .181 hitting percentage. Conversely, Manitoba hit .279 with 28 kills and 11 errors on 61 attempts. 

QUOTABLE
Adam Schriemer, TWU Head Coach
"Going into today, we really wanted to play clean offensively, especially in high ball. The hard part was that it took us about a set and a half to do that. In Canada West volleyball, the margins are too slim and if you give your opponents over seven points per set in one phase, you're not going to be able to earn enough or play clean enough to win. Our inability to play a clean offence combined with not handling their tough serves just made us bleed too many points and that was the difference tonight."

UP NEXT
The Spartans will host long-time rival and currently No. 1-ranked Alberta in a two-match series Jan. 17-18 at the Langley Events Centre. 

NOTABLE
•    TWU is currently 31-23 lifetime against Manitoba.
•    The Spartans entered this weekend coming off a four-match trip to California where they played NCAA volleyball juggernauts UCLA, Long Beach State, Pepperdine and UC San Diego. 

AS IT HAPPENED
TWU opened the first set strongly with Kaden Schmidt securing an early lead with a kill, assisted by Anselm Rein, making the score 1-0. TWU faced challenges with several service errors and attack errors, allowing the Bisons to gain momentum, with the home team closing the set with a 25-16 advantage, highlighted by a kill from Weekes.

The second set saw the Bisons take an early lead with Dadash Adeh securing three consecutive points, including two service aces, prompting a timeout from the Spartans. TWU responded with Anselm Rein facilitating key kills for Piers De Greeff and Kaden Schmidt, narrowing the gap to 11-10 after a series of successful plays, including an ace by Rein. Despite a strong effort from the visiting team, including multiple kills by De Greeff, the Bisons closed out the period with a 25-22 victory, capitalizing on a couple of attack errors by Trinity Western in the final points.

TWU started strong in the third set with Schoenherr securing the opening point with a kill. De Greeff and Kyden Dmitruk contributed significantly, with De Greeff delivering multiple kills and Dmitruk adding a service ace, bringing the score to 9-7 in favor of TWU. Despite maintaining a close contest, with Schmidt and De Greeff consistently scoring, the Bisons ultimately edged out the set 25-23, aided by a late service ace from Spencer Grahame and a match-winning kill from Weekes.

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.  

-TW-