SASKATOON, Saskatchewan – The Trinity Western Spartans never got their attack going as they dropped the third and deciding match of the best of three Canada West play-in series 3-0 to the Saskatchewan Huskies Sunday afternoon at the Physical Activity Centre in Saskatoon, Sask. The 25-16, 25-22, 25-23 loss ends the Spartans season and sends the Huskies on to the Canada West quarter-finals against the Fraser Valley Cascades next week in Abbotsford, B.C.
Third-year outside
Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.) with nine kills, five digs, and two service aces, fourth-year middle
Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) with nine kills, four digs, and two blocks, and third-year outside
Faye Murray (Rosenort, Man.) with eight kills, and four digs, and two service aces led the Spartans.
Rosetta Cyr with 13 kills, six digs, and one block, Taryn Hannah with eight kills, and seven digs led the Huskies, and Keely Anderson with seven kills, 11 digs, and two aces led the Huskies.
Rookie setter
Tayana Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.) finished with 22 set assists and six digs for the Spartans. While Tielle Hagel finished with 33 set assists for the Huskies.
QUOTABLE
Trinity Western Head Coach Ryan Hofer
"This team showed a lot of resilience, we were tooling around with different lineups [and] had a different lineup late in the season [but] they just kept learning to fight. They kept adjusting well, they went through a lot of tough stuff together and were not afraid to do hard things together. I couldn't be more proud as a coach."
AS IT HAPPENED
The Spartans had a strong start to the match quickly jumping out to a 9-4 lead. But the Huskies took over from there and used a 14-2 run to take an 18-11 lead heading into the second part of the set. TWU could not get things going as Saskatchewan took the opening set 25-16. TWU hit .065 (11-9-31), while Saskatchewan hit .455 (11-1-22).
In the second set, the Spartans had another solid start taking a 15-11 lead into the middle stages of the set. But with TWU leading 17-13 Saskatchewan used another run, 8-2, to take a 21-19 lead. TWU got to a one-point deficit, 22-21 but could not get the lead as the Huskies took the second set 25-22 and a 2-0 set lead. The Spartans hit .240 (11-5-25), while the Huskies hit .324 (16-5-34).
The Huskies took quick control of the third set to lead 6-1. The Spartans slowly gained ground, trailing 13-8 took eight of 11 points to tie the set at 16-16. Saskatchewan attack errors gave TWU an 18-16 lead, but the Huskies quickly took the next four points to regain a two-point, 20-18 lead. Kills by Boldon and Murray got TWU back to even, 20-20, with the Huskies taking a timeout. The teams exchanged points to 23-23. Then the Huskies took the final two points to take the set 25-23 and the match 3-0. TWU hit .158 (14-8-38), while Saskatchewan hit .212 (12-5-33).
NOTABLE
- TWU finished the night hitting .149 (36-22-94), while Saskatchewan hit at .315 (39-11-89).
- The Spartans finished with three blocks, while the Huskies finished with seven.
- Both teams had four service aces.
- TWU had 33 digs to Saskatchewan's 30.
- The Spartans are currently 40-20 lifetime against the Huskies.
- The Spartans split the first two matches with the Huskies, losing 3-1 Friday night and winning 3-1 Saturday night.
- The Spartans entered the CW playoffs as the ninth seed, against the eighth-seed Saskatchewan Huskies.
- Last week the Spartans swept the Huskies 3-2, and 3-1 at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. to secure a post-season berth.
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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