LANGLEY, British Columbia – The No. 1-ranked Trinity Western Spartans fought back after dropping the opening two sets but fell 3-1 to the Winnipeg Wesmen Friday at the FIELDHOUSE at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. Winnipeg won 25-15, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23.
Third-year outside hitter
Zach Hofer (Langley, B.C.) led TWU with 10 kills and added six digs. Fifth-year outside hitter
Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) had nine kills and a team-high eight digs, while third-year middles
Nathan Howden-Duke (North Vancouver, B.C.) and
Zack Yewchuk (Surrey, B.C.) each recorded eight kills. Yewchuk also led the Spartans with five blocks.
The result leaves TWU at 3-2 in Canada West and 10-3 overall, including preseason play. Winnipeg improved to 4-1 in conference play, taking a one-game lead over the Spartans after the teams entered the match with identical 3-1 records.
Levi Unger paced Winnipeg with 23 kills while hitting .348. Luke Lodewyks added 17 kills, 14 digs and four blocks, and Easton Dick finished with 10 blocks and five kills. Setter Tristan Arnold recorded 39 assists and 11 digs.
Fifth-year setter
Ben Pike (Abbotsford, B.C.) finished with 25 assists and five digs for TWU. Third-year setter
Willem Van Huizen (Langley, B.C.) contributed six kills, 11 assists and four digs, while second-year libero
Isaac Navarro (Surrey, B.C.) collected seven digs.
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Wesmen meet again Saturday, November 14, at 5 p.m. PT at the FIELDHOUSE at the Langley Events Centre. The match will be streamed on Canada West TV.
AS IT HAPPENED
Winnipeg opened the match with three consecutive points and built a 7-2 lead before TWU called its first timeout. The Wesmen maintained control, hitting .286 with 12 kills in the opening set. TWU managed six kills against seven attacking errors, and Unger closed out the 25-15 win with a kill.
The Spartans improved offensively in the second set, hitting .250 with 11 kills, but Winnipeg answered with 14 kills and a .385 hitting percentage. The Wesmen led 22-17 before TWU pulled within three at 23-20. Lodewyks supplied Winnipeg's final two points on kills to secure the set 25-21.
TWU stayed alive with a 25-23 third-set win. A Yewchuk kill and a block from Van Huizen and Yewchuk gave the Spartans a 21-19 lead before Winnipeg drew even. With the score tied 22-22, a Wesmen service error and a Hofer kill brought up set point. After Lodewyks kept Winnipeg in the set, Hofer finished it with another kill, assisted by Pike. TWU hit .286 in the frame, its best attacking percentage of the match.
Winnipeg led 23-18 in the fourth before TWU made a late push. Kills from Van Huizen and Hofer, followed by a block from Yewchuk and second-year setter/outside hitter
Silas Schalk (St. Albert, Alta.), cut the deficit to 23-21. Lodewyks brought up match point, but another Van Huizen kill and a Winnipeg attacking error pulled TWU within 24-23. Lodewyks then ended the match with a kill.
NOTABLE
- Winnipeg led 49-41 in kills, 42-37 in digs and 12-6 in team blocks. The Wesmen hit .241, compared with TWU's .161. Both teams had three aces; TWU committed 21 service errors and Winnipeg had 18.
- TWU is now 47-22 overall and 32-15 in Canada West conference play against Winnipeg. The loss ended the Spartans' three-match winning streak in the series. TWU won both meetings in Winnipeg last season, each by a 3-1 score.
- The Spartans entered the weekend ranked No. 1 in the November 9 U SPORTS Top 10.
- Howden-Duke set TWU career match highs with eight kills and five digs, surpassing his previous bests of six kills and four digs from November 7 at Alberta. He hit .375 Friday and added an ace.
- Schmidt increased his Canada West career totals to 909 kills and 101 service aces. He remains sixth on TWU's conference career kills list.
- Schmidt leads TWU with 88 kills through five conference matches. Navarro has 61 digs, Van Huizen has 146 assists and Yewchuk has 25 total blocks.
ABOUT SPARTAN ATHLETICS
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in nine sports in the Canada West conference, including women's and men's soccer, volleyball, basketball and hockey, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes in NAIA within the Cascade Collegiate Conference in men's and women's track and field and cross country, as well 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, 35 Canada West team championships and one Cascade Collegiate Conference championship.
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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