VANCOUVER – In a battle of the top two teams in the country, No.1 ranked Trinity Western lost 3-2 (25-19, 24-26, 21-25, 25-20, 17-15) to No. 2 UBC Friday at War Memorial Gym. After the Spartans beat the Thunderbirds in five last Friday, the teams finish the two-match season series with a split after both matches went the distance. 

Both teams are now 7-1 on the season. 

TWU's Kaden Schmidt continued his dominant season on the attack, registering a match-high 25 kills to go with four aces, while Anselm Rein had 51 assists for the Spartans. Jackson Corneil had 11 kills for TWU, while Willem Van Huizen had 10 kills to go with 10 digs. Tate Calles had a team-high 12 digs. 

UBC was led by Reeve Gingera, who had 15 kills and two aces, and Gavin Moes, who had 15 kills and one ace. Kieran Robinson-Dunning had a match-high six blocks for a UBC side that finished with a 13-2 edge in blocks. 

The Spartans hit .277 as a team, while UBC hit .328, including .588 in a fifth set in which the home side didn't commit a single attacking error. TWU also had its most efficient set of the night in the fifth, hitting .474 with 11 kills and two errors. 

In the fifth set, TWU took a 7-4 lead after a Corneil kill, but the T-Birds rallied to even the set 7-7. After going back and forth the rest of the set, TWU had match point at 14-13, but back-to-back UBC points put the home team on the brink of a win. Eventually a UBC block on a TWU pipe sealed the win for the T-Birds at 17-15.

QUOTABLE
Adam Schriemer, TWU Head Coach
"That was a devastating blow, but it was two worthy opponents tonight. There were moments in tonight's game where it was a terminal serve battle. There were moments where it was a matter of which team could stop each other in sideout. Then there were moments where it was about who could execute and be cleaner in transition. When you play long games like that against great teams, the flow and style of game changes a lot. We were right there with it. I think the hard part is the missed execution on certain plays on our part. Because of that, we gave them a few too many points. When the margins are that small, if you don't execute your opportunities, you'll have a hard time winning. That's going to be the challenge for us as we prepare for next week. As we head to Northern Alberta next week, we'll have to be a little cleaner and do better with the opportunities that we have to earn more points."

NOTABLE
•    Schmidt has surpassed the 20-kill mark four times this year.
•    TWU is 14-2 this season, including preseason, with both losses against UBC.
•    Including this year, the Spartans and T-Birds have now split their last four season series.
•    TWU is 64-30 all-time against UBC. 

UP NEXT 
TWU will now prepare to play No. 3-ranked Alberta Nov. 28-29 in Edmonton. 

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 in NAIA in cross country and track and field 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 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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