EDMONTON, Alberta– The No. 2 Trinity Western Spartans earned a 3-2 victory over the No.3 Alberta Golden Bears to earn a weekend split with Alberta Saturday night at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton, Alta. The 25-17, 14-25, 25-20, 23-25, 15-7 win improves the Spartans to 8-2, while the loss drops the Golden Bears to 8-2.
 
Fourth-year outside Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) with 17 kills, three digs, one ace, and three blocks, and fifth-year middle Cory Schoenherr (Waterloo, Ont.) with eight kills, hitting .700, and six blocks led the Spartans. Jacob Sargent, with 18 kills, eight digs, and Owen Harris, with nine kills and one block, led the Golden Bears.
 
Fifth-year setter Anselm Rein (Erfurt, Germany), with 38 set assists, led the Spartans' attack, while Luke Weddell led the Golden Bears with 39 assists.
 
UP NEXT
The next Canada West conference games for the Spartans are on January 9-10, when TWU will host the Thompson Rivers WolfPack at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans and Bears were even early in the opening set, but with TWU up 9-8, the Spartans went on a 7-3 run to take a five-point lead, 16-11. Trinity Western expanded the lead to 20-13 before taking the opening set with a 25-17 win. TWU hit at an impressive .500 (13-3-20), while Alberta hit at .158 (7-4-19).
 
The Bears responded to the challenge in the second set and jumped out to an early 11-6 lead. After a Spartan timeout, the Bears didn't slow down as they expanded their lead to nine points, 18-9. Alberta continued to roll through the set to tie the match up 1-1 with a 25-14 win. TWU's attack efficiency fell off drastically as TWU hit at -.125 (14-7-10) while Alberta improved to .500 (11-1-20).
 
The third set was evenly played in the early going, with the two teams tied at 10-10 to start the set. TWU took the next two points to lead 12-10, with Alberta taking the early timeout. The Spartans maintained their lead as the two teams exchanged points, then, with TWU up 17-16, the Spartans took over. TWU used a 4-1 run to lead 21-16. The Spartans carried their momentum through the remainder of the set to take a 2-1 lead with a 25-20. TWU finished the set hitting at .182 (7-3-22), while Alberta hit at .042 (8-7-24).
 
The Golden Bears were the better team to start the fourth set, taking an early four-point lead, 8-4. The Spartans gradually worked their way back into the set to tie the game at 17-17. From there, it was a side-out ball. Then, with the two teams tied at 21-21, the Bears got separation to lead 23-21. TWU was unable to close the gap as Alberta took the fourth set 25-23 to even the match at 2-2. Both teams were efficient on the attack, with TWU hitting at .458 (12-1-24), while Alberta hit at .448 (18-5-29).
 
The Spartans came out strong in the back-and-forth match and quickly jumped out to a 6-2 lead. TWU extended the lead to five points, 8-3, at the changeover. The Golden Bears were never able to gain ground in the final set, as the Spartans took it 15-7 and the match 3-2. TWU hit the best of the night, finishing the set at .583 (7-0-12), while Alberta hit at a match low -.154 (3-5-13).
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans hit at .284 (46-17-102), while the Bears hit at .238 (47-22-105).
• TWU had the edge in total blocks, 9.5-4, while Alberta had the advantage in digs, at 33-27.
• The Spartans also had a 10-4 edge in service aces.
• TWU is currently 38-70 lifetime against Alberta.
• Last night, the Spartans lost to the Bears in four games, 25-20, 23-25, 25-16, 25-23.
• These are the final conference matches of the fall semester for the Spartans.

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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