WINNIPEG, Manitoba – Fourth-year outside Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) finished the night with 24 kills and three service aces to help lead the No. 3 Trinity Western Spartans to a 3-1 victory over the No. 8 Winnipeg Wesmen Friday night at the Duckworth Centre in Winnipeg, Man. The 25-22, 25-23, 21-25, 25-20 win improves the Spartans to 3-0 in Canada West play, while the loss drops the Wesmen to 2-1.
 
Fifth-year outside/middle Jackson Corneil (Surrey, B.C.) with 10 kills and two blocks, fifth-year middle (Waterloo, Ont.) with nine kills, five blocks, and fifth-year middle Liam Remple (Vernon, B.C.) with nine kills, two blocks, and no errors also had strong nights for the Spartans. Jaxon Rose with 15 kills, and six digs, and Luke Lodewycks with 11 kills, and 10 digs led the Wesmen.
 
TWU fifth-year setter Anselm Rein (Erfurt, Germany) finished the night with 52 set assists and 12 digs while leading the Spartans' attack, while Alex Kyrkewich led the Wesmen with 49 assists and 10 digs for Winnipeg..
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Wesmen will finish the two-game series tomorrow night at the Duckworth Centre in Winnipeg, Man. The game is set to start at 5 p.m. (CT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Adam Schriermer, TWU Head Coach
"A really, really, really tough win for our guys on the road here. Playing in Winnipeg is one of the hardest places to play, and one of the hardest teams to play against. I think we felt that today, especially in the third set, when they just never went away, even when we got off to a good start. I think we have to be a lot better on our block D. I have to make a better plan of prepping for Winnipeg; they scored at a really high clip. We can be better, slowing some of their middles down, especially their left-side spiker, who was awesome tonight, and we didn't contain him the way we needed to. We'll have to be better at that tomorrow. Offensively, we were awesome. Caden, 24 kills, four sets, super good. ?And our middles, both Liam and Corey, were almost untouchable today. So it's good to see the production out of our middles. And Kaden with another all-time performance, which you get to see."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The match opened with Trinity Western and Winnipeg trading points, as neither team could establish a substantial lead early on. Winnipeg's Paxton Koop and Aidan Hruska each recorded multiple kills, contributing to several lead changes. Trinity Western's Schmidt responded with critical kills, maintaining pressure and allowing the Spartans to edge ahead. With a tight scoreline at 23-21, a timeout was called by Winnipeg, but it was Trinity Western who clinched the set 25-22, with Schmidt securing the final point with a kill from a set by Calles.
 
Trinity Western secured the second set against the Wesmen with a narrow 25-23 victory. The Spartans started strong with Rein assisting multiple key plays, including an early kill by Schmidt at 1-0. Winnipeg's Kyrkewich facilitated numerous scoring opportunities, but service errors from both teams kept the scoreline close throughout. With the score tied at 22, Liam Remple delivered a crucial kill to give the Spartans a slight edge. After a timeout called by the Wesmen, Kyden Dmitruk clinched the set with a kill, assisted by Rein, bringing the set to a close at 25-23.
 
Trinity Western began the third set strongly, with Remple earning consecutive points, including a kill and an ace, to help his team lead 5-1. Winnipeg responded with Rose securing multiple kills, including one at 5-2 and another at 12-12, leveling the score. Despite several lead changes, the Spartans struggled with service errors, allowing the Wesmen to maintain pressure. Sebastian Verdaguer's kill, assisted by Kyrkewich, concluded the set at 25-21 for Winnipeg, securing a pivotal win in the set.
 
The fourth set saw the Spartans secure a decisive win against the Wesmen with a score of 25-20. Schmidt played a pivotal role, notching multiple kills, including a key sequence with back-to-back service aces, pushing the Spartans ahead 22-18. Schoenherr and Dmitruk contributed significantly, both registering critical kills to maintain the lead. Winnipeg attempted to rally, with Rose consistently providing offensive pressure, but timely errors, including multiple service faults, hindered their comeback. Despite a late push from Koop, the Spartans closed out the set with a final kill from Dmitruk, sealing the victory.

NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night hitting at .373 (65-15-134), while the Wesmen finished at .352 (56-11-128).
• TWU had the edge in blocks 7-5, digs 52-42, and service aces 5-3.
• Schmidt's 24 kills in four sets is tied for the sixth most in a four set match in Spartan history.
• TWU is currently 46-21 lifetime against Winnipeg.
• Over the last six games, the Spartans are 3-3 against the Wesmen.
• Before last week's bye week, the Spartans swept the Fraser Valley Cascades 3-0 and 3-0.
• Last week, the Wesmen took two games from the Fraser Valley Cascades, winning 3-0 both nights.

 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 11 sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey and track & field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes as in the NAIA in track and field and cross country and 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 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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