LANGLEY, British Columbia – Fifth-year outside hitter
Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.) recorded 19 kills and 15 digs, while second-year middle
Emma Graca (Surrey, B.C.) added 11 kills without an error as the Trinity Western Spartans defeated the Manitoba Bisons 3-1 Saturday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre. The Spartans' 25-16, 23-25, 25-23, 25-16 win completes the weekend sweep and improves TWU to 2-0 in Canada West play, while Manitoba falls to 0-2.
Graca hit .733 on 15 attempts and added three blocks. Third-year outside hitter
Sienna Driedger (Grunthal, Man.) also had 11 kills, while first-year middle
Brielle Vanderkooi (Chilliwack, B.C.) finished with 10 kills on .600 hitting and four blocks.
Second-year setter
Tayana Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.) recorded 40 assists and five digs, while fourth-year libero
Sofia Rader (Lynden, Wash.) added 12 digs. Boldon led all players in both kills and digs.
Lucy Jorgensen led Manitoba with nine kills on .400 hitting. Aviendah Plett had eight kills on 12 attempts without an error for a .667 hitting percentage, while Julia Martens finished with 29 assists and eight kills. Jersey Hansen-Young led the Bisons with 10 digs
.
UP NEXT
The Spartans have a conference bye before visiting the Alberta Pandas on Friday, November 6, and Saturday, November 7, at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton. Match times are 6 p.m. (PT) Friday and 5 p.m. (PT) Saturday, with both matches live on Canada West TV.
QUOTABLE
Ryan Hofer, TWU Head Coach
"I love that I could play some different players tonight than we played yesterday. The players did a great job, and it was a night to mix up the lineup and put out a different look. I thought the team responded really well; we did a really good job of executing on what we wanted to execute. Some players hit really high efficiency tonight. I thought our setters did a really good job of creating some pressure with who and when and where they were setting, and they did a really nice job. ?Passing was really solid; give
Sofia Rader full props. She was doing a great job in the back court, digging up balls and passing up on service receive."
AS IT HAPPENED
TWU scored the first five points of the opening set and led throughout. Driedger had five kills as the Spartans hit .343, built a 22-12 advantage, and closed out a 25-16 win on a Manitoba setting error.
Manitoba opened the second set with a 3-0 lead, including consecutive aces from Addison Benedict. The Bisons later led 23-17 before TWU won six straight points, including two aces from first-year outside hitter
Brooke Fermaniuk (Calgary), to tie the set. A Bethany Carter kill and a Spartans attack error gave Manitoba the final two points for a 25-23 win.
The Spartans led 21-16 in the third set before Manitoba rallied with five consecutive points to tie it 21-21. Boldon answered with a kill, and a block from Graca and first-year outside hitter
Sydney Seida (St. Albert, Alta.) restored a two-point lead. Driedger finished the set with a kill at 24-23 as TWU moved ahead 2-1. Boldon had eight kills in the set.
TWU broke away from a 4-2 lead with five straight points in the fourth set, then stretched its advantage to 17-6. Graca recorded eight kills in the set as the Spartans hit .368. Boldon's 19th kill finished the 25-16 win.
NOTABLE
- TWU outhit Manitoba .338 to .182 and led 62-43 in kills.
- The Spartans led 57-38 in digs and 8.5-5 in team blocks. Manitoba had an 8-5 advantage in service aces.
- Seida led all players with five blocks, including one solo block. Fermaniuk led TWU with two aces, while Manitoba's Selma Hodne had three.
- Boldon finished the weekend with 30 kills and 23 digs. TWU won Friday's opener 3-0.
- TWU improves to 30-27 all-time against Manitoba, including a 25-23 record in conference play.
- TWU has won four straight home conference matches against Manitoba, dating back to October 2022.
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 and women's and men's disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 15 U SPORTS team championships and 35 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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