LANGLEY, British Columbia – In a battle worthy of being a U SPORTS championship match the No. 4 Canada West silver medalist Trinity Western Spartans defeated the No. 5 Canada West bronze medalists 3-0 in the U SPORTS championship quarter final Friday night at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The Spartans were slightly better in the two opening sets winning in extra points 33-31 and 26-24 to take a 2-0 lead. TWU closed out the match and a spot in the semi-final with a late surge to take the final set 25-22 and make it two straight post season wins over UBC.
 
Second-year outside Sienna Driedger (Grunthal, Man.) with 15 kills and eight digs, fifth-year middle/outside Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) with eight kills, eight digs, three aces and two blocks, and fourth-year outside Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.) with seven kills, nine digs, and three blocks led the Spartans.
 
Lucy Borowski with 17 kills, 15 digs and one block and Kylee Glanville with 10 kills, nine digs, and two blocks led the Thunderbirds.
 
Trinity Western second-year setter Tayana Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.) with 28 set assists ran a solid Spartans attack, while UBC's Issy Robertshaw finished the night with 43 assists for the Thunderbirds.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now match up with the winner of the No. 1 Alberta Pandas and the No. 8 Montreal Carabins in the U SPORTS semi-final Saturday night at 6 p.m. (PT) at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The match can be seen live on CBC Gem.
 
AS IT HAPPENED
The opening set was a back-and-forth contest. The Spartans came out strong and quickly jumped out to a 5-0 lead. But the Thunderbirds scrambled back and tied the set at 13-13 after a Kylee Glanville kill. Again, it was TWU's turn as the Spartans regained a three-point lead 22-19 after a Kaylee Plouffe kill. The Thunderbirds took the next thee points to tie the set at 22-22 with a Elizabeth Lee kill. Back-to-back errors gave the Spartans set point at 24-22, but the Thunderbirds were able to tie the set at 24-24 and force extra points. TWU had three set points turned away before UBC took two straight to lead 27-26. The teams continued to battle with each having chances to take the opening set. The Spartans were finally able to come out on top when they took three straight points, finalized bay a Maryn Boldon kill to take the opening set 33-31. TWU finished the set hitting at .191 (15-6-47), while UBC hit at .319 (21-6-47).
 
The second set was another battle between the two Top 10 teams. The Thunderbirds took the early three-point, 11-8, lead after a kill by Lucy Borowski. But as the trend from the opening set the Spartans fought back with a 4-0 run to take an 12-11 lead after a Dmitruk dump in the middle. From there it was side out ball. With the teams even at 21-21. TWU got to set point 24-22 after another Dmitruk dump. An ace by UBC's Kylee Glanville forced the set into extra points. Boldon gave the Spartans another set point at 25-24 with a crosscourt kill, with Isabella Stothart finishing the set with an emphatic middle attack to put TWU up 2-0 in the best of three match. The Spartans hit at .265 (11-2-34), while the Thunderbirds finished at .152 (17-10-46).
 
The third set was even from the early points to the when the teams were tied at 15-15. TWU's Plouffe gave the Spartans control over the final set with back-to-back kills and a Thunderbird attack error to put TWU up 20-15. The teams exchanged points till the Spartans were serving for match point, leading 24-20. UBC held off two straight match points until Boldon put the match away with a cross court attack to give TWU the third set 25-22, and the match 3-0. TWU hit at .310 (18-5-42) in the final set, while UBC hit at .225 (13-4-40).
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night hitting at .252 (44-13-123) while the Thunderbirds finished at .233 (51-20-133).
• TWU had the edge in blocks 8-4.
• While UBC had the edge in digs 56-53 and aces 6-5.
• The Spartans and Thunderbirds met in the Canada West semifinal with TWU winning 3-2 (20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13) to advance to the Canada West Final
• TWU is currently 35-61 lifetime against the UBC Thunderbirds.

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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