LANGLEY, British Columbia– After dropping the opening set 25-20, the Trinity Western Spartans came storming back to earn a 3-1 victory over the Mount Royal Cougars Friday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The 20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-16 win improves the Spartans to 16-3 in Canada West conference play, while the loss drops the Cougars to 12-7. With the win the Spartans have also secured second place in the final Canada West standings, with one match remaining.
 
Fourth-year outside Kaden Schmidt (Mississauga, Ont.) with 17 kills and six digs, second-year setter/outside Willem Van Huizen (Langley, B.C.) with 10 kills, three blocks, and two service aces, and second-year outside Zach Hofer (Langley, B.C.) with eight kills, four digs, and one ace led the Spartans. Kale Orr, with 10 kills, five digs, and two blocks, led the Cougars.
 
TWU fifth-year setter Anselm Rein (Erfurt, Germany) ran the Spartan attack, finishing with 44 set assists. Mount Royal's Grant Hill finished with 26 set assists for the Cougars.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Cougars will finish off the Canada West conference season at 5 p.m. (PT) at the Langley Events Centre. The game can be seen live on Canada West TV.
 
QUOTABLE
Adam Schriemer, TWU Head Coach
"We're better when there's actually volleyball being played. But when we give our opponents so many points because we can't find their serve, and then don't create rallies or mega rallies out of system situations. ?It's just hard to win that way. There just wasn't enough volleyball being played."
 
"One of our offensive keys is side out and have fun. What that means is, when we have teams that have a high service in rate, we have to earn a lot of first balls, and we did that today, which is really nice. ?Really high kill rate, which was good. Anselm was awesome, and our passers were really, really dialed in. It's nice that we can win against a good team with our worst serving match of our season. We have to have better execution and more attention with our serves tomorrow."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The opening set saw the Cougars gain early momentum over the Spartans, taking a 7-4 lead, punctuated by a pair of attack errors from the home side. The Spartans responded with a few key plays, including a kill from Kaden Schmidt at 16-14, narrowing the deficit. However, Mount Royal regained control with strong performances from Isaac Karstad, who delivered consecutive kills to extend the lead to 20-15. Despite a late push from the Spartans, service errors proved costly, and the set concluded with a service error at 25-20 in favor of Mount Royal. TWU hit at .042 (9-8-24), while MRU hit at .188 (7-4-16).
 
TWU evened the match with a narrow 25-22 victory in the second set, overcoming a series of errors by both teams. Despite service errors plaguing both sides, the Spartans managed a late surge, with Schmidt's offense and a key block by Van Huizen and Cory Schoenherr pushing them ahead. Mount Royal's timeout at 24-21 couldn't halt the momentum, as Van Huizen secured the set with a decisive kill. The Spartans hit at .419 (16-3-31), while the Cougars hit at .400 (10-2-20).
 
In the third set, TWU secured a 25-19 victory over MRU. A kill by Jackson Corneil from Anselm Rein tied the score at 6-6, and Schmidt's service ace pushed the home team to a 9-7 lead. Mount Royal's efforts to close the gap were disrupted by consecutive kills from Hofer, extending the Spartans' advantage to 15-10. Despite a brief Mount Royal rally, the Cougars were unable to gain ground as the Spartans capitalized on Cougar service errors, ultimately sealing the set 25-19 on a Mount Royal service miscue. TWU finished the set hitting an impressive .625 (17-2-24), while MRU slowed to hitting only .312 (7-2-16).
 
Trinity Western secured a decisive 25-16 victory in the fourth set to take the match 3-1. The set featured strong service from the Spartans, highlighted by service aces from Rein and Tyson Hofer, which contributed to their early 17-11 lead. Van Huizen and Piers De Greeff were key in maintaining the home team's momentum with critical kills. Mount Royal's efforts were hampered by service errors and blocked attacks, allowing Trinity Western to go on a 6-2 run to close the set and match, with a service error from Mount Royal sealing the final point. TWU finished the match hitting at .304 (11-4-23), while MRU finished at .074 (7-5-27).
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night hitting at .353 (53-17-102) while the Cougars finished at .228 (31-13-79).
• The Spartans had the edge in service aces, 7-3, and digs, 32-27.
• MRU had the edge in blocks 10-8.5.
• The Spartans are currently 32-10 lifetime against the Mount Royal Cougars.
• The Spartans have won three of their last four conference matches against the Cougars.
• TWU has not played MRU in conference play in two years, when the Spartans split with the Cougars, losing 3-0 and winning 3-2 in Langley, B.C., on January 5-6.
• Last week, the Spartans swept the Saskatchewan Huskies, winning 3-1 and 3-0 in two extra point matches at home at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
• Last week, the Cougars swept the Calgary Dinos, winning 3-0 on both nights at home in Calgary, Alta.
• With two matches remaining in the Canada West season, the Spartans could finish anywhere from first to fourth, with only four wins separating the first to fourth in the conference. UBC is in the top spot at 17-1. While UBC Okanagan is third at 15-3 and Alberta is fourth at 13-5.

 
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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