LANGLEY, British Columbia. – The No. 4 Trinity Western Spartans fell in straight sets to the No. 7 Thompson Rivers WolfPack to open the second semester Friday evening at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The 25-21, 25-14, 25-23 loss drops the Spartans to 7-4, while the win improves the first-place WolfPack to 11-2.
 
Third-year middle Isabella Stothart (Airdrie, Alta.) with 12 kills and four blocks, and second-year outside Sienna Driedger (Grunthal, Man.) with nine kills and three blocks led the Spartans. Hail Ward and Lucy Millam each finished the night with 12 kills to lead the WolfPack. TRU's Faith Christensen led all players with six blocks. While Ward added four aces to her night's totals.
 
TWU fourth-year setter Sydney Gill (St. Catharines, Ont.) and second-year setter Tayana Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.) ran the Spartan attack, finishing with 24 and five set assists. TRU's Libby Meldrum ran the WolfPack's offence and finished with 29 set assists.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and WolfPack will finish off the two-match series tomorrow afternoon at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. Match time is set for 3 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Ryan Hofer, TWU Head Coach
"Tonight was a tough night. I thought TRU played really well, and I don't think we rose to the same level that they were playing at. I know that there are some adjustments that we can make, and I am excited to see how we are going to respond tomorrow."

AS IT HAPPENED
The opening set was evenly played, with the two teams tied 8-8 to start. The WolfPack were able to gain separation to lead 17-13 after a Hail Ward service ace forced TWU into a timeout. Out of the break, the Spartans cut the lead to one point, 19-18, after a kill from Sienna Driedger. But Thompson Rivers would regain control to take a 23-18 lead after a Rida Erlalelitepe kill gave the Wolfpack a five-point lead. The Spartans battled back with three straight points to cut the lead to two points, 23-21, and put TRU into a timeout. After the timeout, the WolfPack took the next two points to earn a 25-21 opening-set win. TWU hit at .150 (13-7-40), while TRU hit at .217 (15-5-46) in the opening set.
 
The WolfPack carried the momentum from the opening set into the second set, quickly jumping out to a 5-0 lead, prompting the Spartans to take an early timeout. The Spartans responded and cut the lead to two points after Kaylee Plouffe (fifth-year, middle, Sherwood Park, Alta.) and Emma Grace (second-year, middle, Surrey, B.C.) blocked TRU's Faith Christensen to make it 6-4 for the WolfPack. TRU then took over and outscored TWU 6-1 to take a 12-5 lead and force the Spartans to take another timeout. TWU was unable to close the gap as Thompson Rivers took the set 25-14 to go up 2-0 in sets. TWU hit at -.033 (14-6-7), while TRU hit at .194 (11-5-31).
 
TWU opened the third set, taking an early three-point, 11-8 lead after a kill by fourth-year outside Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.). The WolfPack were able to rally and take a 17-15 lead after a kill by Erlalelitepe. TWU rallied to tie the set at 20-20 after a Plouffe kill evened the set. After a WolfPack timeout, TRU took control of the set to earn set and match point at 24-22. Boldon held off the first match point with a cross-court kill. TRU's Erlalelitepe then finished the match with a kill to give the WolfPack the set 25-23 and the match 3-0. TWU finished the final set hitting .265 (17-8-34), while TRU hit at .233 (11-4-30).
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night hitting at .135 (36-22-104), while the WolfPack finished at .253 (58-18-158).
• TRU had the edge in blocks 11-8 and aces 6-1, while TWU had the edge in digs 49-40.
• The Spartans are currently 50-9 lifetime against the TRU WolfPack. Last season, the WolfPack swept the Spartans, winning 3-2 and 3-1 in Kamloops, B.C. Snapping a Spartan 10-game conference game winning streak.
• In their final games of the fall semester, the Spartans split with the No. 1 Alberta Pandas, losing 3-0 and winning 3-2 in Edmonton.
• In their final games of the fall semester, the WolfPack swept the Manitoba Bisons, winning 3-0 both nights in Kamloops, B.C.
• TRU is currently on a seven-match winning streak. The WolfPack's last loss was 3-2 to the UBC Thunderbirds on November 8.

 
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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