LANGLEY, British Columbia – In a back-and-forth match, the No. 4 Trinity Western Spartans fell to the No. 3 Brock Badgers 3-2 in the U SPORTS bronze medal match Sunday afternoon at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The 25-17, 24-26, 24-26, 25-18, 15-11 win gives the Badgers their first-ever U SPORTS medal.
 
Fifth-year outside/middle Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) with 15 kills, 13 digs, and four aces, and fourth-year outside Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.) with 15 kills, four digs, and one ace led the Spartans. While Daryan Chadwick with 17 kills and 16 digs, and Madison Tuck with14 kills, 14 digs, and three aces led the Badgers.
 
TWU second-year setter Tayana Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.) finished the afternoon with 41 set assists for the Spartans. Mackenna Knox finished with 54 set assists for the Badgers.
 
QUOTABLE
Ryan Hofer, TWU head coach
"I just want to shout out Brock, their team, and their staff. They played outstanding, so full, full, respect for them and what they accomplished." ?
 
"So proud of my group of women that I've coached. We've grown so much together, we've learned so much together, and I'm just proud of the journey that we've been on. They have worked incredibly hard. ?They've built a culture of goodness around this place that they can be incredibly proud of. And it was a pleasure to coach them every day."

AS IT HAPPENED
The No. 3 Badger came out of the gate strong and quickly took control of the opening set with a 12-7 lead after a Daryan Chadwick kill. Brock continued to roll through the set, taking a 22-13 lead after a Madison Tuck kill. Back-to-back aces by Plouffe cut the deficit to six points, 22-16. But the Badgers responded with two straight points before taking the opening set 25-17. TWU hit at .114 (9-5-35), while Brock hit at .472 (18-1-36).
 
The Spartans turned things around in the second set. TWU's Dmitruk came out on fire and quickly served the Spartans into a 6-1 lead. TWU expanded its lead to six points, 11-5, and forced Brock into a timeout after a Plouffe kill. The Badgers responded, and strong serving from Emily Foest and Bianne Whalen allowed Brock to go on an 8-3 run and cut the TWU lead to one point, 14-14, with the Spartans taking a timeout. The teams played side-out ball to 22-22. The Badgers got to set point up 24-22 after a kill by Charlotte Ross. A Badger service error and TWU's Maryn Boldon and Emma Graca block of the Badgers' Madison Tuck made it a tie game at 24-24. The Spartans Plouffe and Boldon finished off the set with back-to-back kills to give TWU the set 26-24 and tie the match at 1-1. TWU hit at .257 (14-5-35), while Brock hit at .154 (11-5-39).
 
The Spartans and Badgers were even for much of the third set. With the two teams knotted at 15-15, Brock went on a 6-1 run to take a sizable 21-16 lead after a kill by Charlotte Ross. After a timeout the Spartans got rolling and eventually pevented a Badger set point to tie the set at 24-24. TWU continued their momentum after a Brock timeout and took the final two points, with Emma Graca giving the Spartans a 26-24 win and a 2-1 set lead. TWU finished the set hitting at .212 (12-5-33), while Brock hit at .116 (14-9-43)
 
The fourth set was again evenly played in the early stages, with the teams tied at 14-14. Brock then took control of the set with a 10-3 run to lead 24-17 after a Madison Tuck kill. TWU held off on set point before Daryan Chadwick gave the Badgers the set 25-18 and evened the match at 2-2. TWU hit at .030 (8-733), while Brock hit at .370 (14-4-27).
 
Brock continued to have the upper hand to start the fifth set as the Badgers led 8-5 at the changeover, after a Charlotte Ross service ace. The teams exchanged points, giving the Badgers a 13-9 lead with a match point on the horizon after a Madison Tuck kill. Tuck followed up with a service ace to give Brock a set point at 14-9. A Plouffe kill and a Badger attack error made it a three-point game, with TWU trailing 14-11. The Spartans' comeback fell short as their serve went long, giving the Badges the bronze medal in a 15-11 win.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the afternoon hitting at .168 (50-24-155) while the Badgers finished at .265 (66-23-162).
• Brock had the edge in blocks 13-9, digs 70-65, and aces 10-9.
• Today's match was the first meeting at the U SPORTS championship between the Spartans and the Badgers.

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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