Trinity Western University

EDMONTON, Alberta - Fifth-year outside hitter Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) recorded 19 kills and third-year middle Zack Yewchuk (Surrey, B.C.) had 10 blocks as the No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans rallied for a 3-2 win over the No. 3 Alberta Golden Bears Saturday night at the Saville Community Sports Centre.

The Spartans twice came back from a set down to win 20-25, 25-18, 20-25, 25-23, 15-11, earning a weekend split after Friday's five-set loss. Both teams finish the weekend with 3-1 Canada West records.

Third-year outside hitter Zach Hofer (Langley, B.C.) helped turn the final set with two aces during a six-point run that put TWU ahead 7-2. The Spartans hit .500 in the fifth, recording seven kills with just one error on 12 attempts.

Yewchuk added eight kills on .438 hitting, plus two solo blocks and eight block assists. Third-year setter Willem Van Huizen (Langley, B.C.) finished with 35 assists, four kills, five digs and three blocks, while third-year middle Nathan Howden-Duke (North Vancouver, B.C.) had six kills on .417 hitting and four blocks. Second-year libero Isaac Navarro (Surrey, B.C.) led TWU with 10 digs.

Dylan Martens paced Alberta with 19 kills, 11 digs and seven blocks. Tyson DeZutter added 11 kills, while Trent Cherewaty had eight kills, nine blocks and four aces. Luke Weddell finished with 42 assists.

QUOTABLE
Adam Schriemer, TWU Head Coach
"I'm really happy with our guys tonight as we stayed on schedule with our road map. To get a win in Alberta is great. We really improved our serving today and our middles and edge blockers did a really nice job of slowing down some of their good spikers. I thought today the difference was we made plays when it mattered the most. Yesterday we felt that we played good for most of the match but when the game got later in the sets, we didn't execute and we weren't the playmakers we need to be. I thought we were awesome today. Zach Hofer was spectacular in the fifth set and I'm really happy to see him play that well. Isaac Navarro was also so good and steady for us tonight."

UP NEXT
The Spartans return home to host the Winnipeg Wesmen Friday, November 13, at 7 p.m. (PT) and Saturday, November 14, at 5 p.m. (PT) at the FIELDHOUSE at the Langley Events Centre. Both matches will be available live on Canada West TV.

AS IT HAPPENED
TWU opened the match with a 4-1 lead before Alberta answered with five consecutive points. The Golden Bears later stretched their advantage to 15-9. The Spartans closed to 22-20, but Alberta took the final three points to win the opening set 25-20. The Bears hit .280, compared with TWU's .065.

The Spartans responded with their best attacking set of the first four, hitting .345 with 13 kills and three errors to win the second 25-18. TWU limited Alberta to .107 hitting to level the match.

Alberta moved back in front with a 25-20 third-set win. The Spartans finished with eight kills and eight errors on 26 attempts, while the Golden Bears hit .167.

TWU built a 22-17 lead in the fourth before Alberta fought back. Consecutive Cherewaty aces cut the Spartans' advantage to 23-22, forcing TWU to use both timeouts. After the teams exchanged points, Hofer put away a kill off a set from fifth-year setter Ben Pike (Abbotsford, B.C.) to secure the 25-23 win and send the match to a fifth set.

Trailing 2-1 in the decider, TWU scored six consecutive points. Schmidt contributed two kills during the run, Yewchuk recorded two blocks, and Hofer delivered two aces. The Spartans led 8-4 at the change of ends and later extended the margin to 12-7. Alberta saved two match points before a DeZutter service error closed out TWU's 15-11 victory.

NOTABLE

• TWU finished with 48 kills and 23 errors on 119 attempts, hitting .210. Alberta recorded 49 kills and 26 errors on 116 attempts for a .198 hitting percentage.
• The Spartans held a 14-12 advantage in blocks, while Alberta led 38-36 in digs. Both teams served five aces. TWU committed 22 service errors, compared with Alberta's 23.
• TWU is now 40-71 all-time against Alberta, including 18-48 in Canada West regular-season matches. The Spartans have won three of the teams' last four meetings, including a 3-0 Canada West semifinal victory on March 6, 2026.
• Hofer finished with seven kills and three aces. Fifth-year outside hitter Kyden Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.) added four kills, six digs, two blocks and an ace. Pike contributed eight assists.
• Three of TWU's first four Canada West matches have gone five sets. The Spartans are 2-1 in those matches.
• The programs have met repeatedly with the Canada West title on the line. Alberta won their championship meetings in 2005, 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2015; TWU won in 2018, 2020 and 2022. The Golden Bears won the teams' subsequent conference finals in 2023 and 2024.
• The teams have also met five times in the national championship final, most recently in 2022 when Alberta defeated TWU. The Spartans are the defending U SPORTS champions, having beaten UBC in five sets in the 2026 final.
• TWU has won eight men's volleyball national championships. Alberta has won 10, most recently in 2024, giving the two programs a combined 18 national titles.

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 and field, as well as women's rugby sevens. TWU also competes independently in men's rugby and women's and men's disc golf. Since joining U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 15 U SPORTS team championships and 35 Canada West team championships.
 
About Trinity Western University
TWU has received seven consecutive A+ rankings for Quality of Teaching and Learning and holds three Canada Research Chairs. Through its whole-person, Christ-centred approach to education, TWU offers a wide range of undergraduate, graduate and adult degree-completion programs that equip leaders of character and competence to make a positive impact in the lives of others.
 
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