EDMONTON, Alberta– The No. 7 Trinity Western Spartans earned a Canada West silver medal after a tightly contested 3-1 loss to the No. 1 Alberta Pandas Saturday night at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton, Alta. The 28-26, 25-15, 20-25, 26-24 loss gives the Spartans the Canada West second seed heading into next week's U SPORTS Championship at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C. The UBC Thunderbirds go in as the Canada West third seed after earning a Canada West bronze medal with a 3-1 win over the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.
 
Fourth-year outside Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.) with 15 kills, eight digs, three blocks, and one aces, fifth-year outside/middle Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) with 14 kills, five digs, and three aces, and second-year outside hitter Sienna Driedger (Grunthal, Man.) with 12 kills and four digs led the Spartans.
 
Alberta's Abby Guezen with 24 kills, six digs, and two blocks, and Payton Henderson with 10 kills, eight digs, and two service aces led the Pandas.
 
TWU second-year setter Tayana Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.) led the Spartans' attack and finished with 45 set assists. Alberta's Justine Kolody finished with 46 set assists for the Pandas.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will open the U SPORTS championship this Friday at the Langley Events Centre. Tournament schedule and seeding will be announced by U SPORTS later Sunday afternoon.

AS IT HAPPENED
Alberta scored a staggering 18 kills and four blocks in the first set, edging out a thrilling 28-26 win. The Pandas also finished with a .424 efficiency in the opener, thanks to five kills from Guezen, and four each from Johnston and Henderson. The Spartans were led by seven kills from Boldon and five each from Driedger and Plouffe.
 
The Pandas led for the entirety of the second set, cruising to a 25-15 win. Guezen was sensational in the second, recording eight of the Pandas 17 kills. Once again, Alberta was very efficient in attack, committing only three errors in the second, and finishing with a .519 attack %. The Pandas also had four aces, allowing just five Spartans kills on 14 attempts.
 
Desperation set in for the Spartans down 2-0, which then saw them explode offensively in the third. TWU went from five kills to 17 between sets two and three. Each Driedger, Boldon, and Plouffe had 11 each through three sets, with a much stronger serve game throwing the Pandas out of system. Not able to run their offence as cleanly, the Pandas dropped from 17 kills in the second, to 10 in the third.
 
The Spartans held all the momentum early in the fourth, jumping ahead 14-6 in a blink. After another string of points, the Spartans were up 19-11, and on the cusp of forcing a fifth set. Needing a spark, Pandas coach Carolyn O'Dwyer switched nearly their entire lineup, which immediately produced the Kolody service run. Guezen secured the championship with her 24th kill on match point.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night hitting an .284 (51-18-116) while the Pandas finished at .358 (60-16-123).
• Alberta had the edge in blocks 8-7, and aces 7-6.
• While TWU had the edge in digs, 43-37.
• The loss to the Pandas snaps a 10-match Spartan winning streak in Canada West conference and post-season play.
• On the final weekend of the opening semester, TWU split with the No. 1 Pandas, losing 3-0 and winning 3-2 on the road in Edmonton, Alta.
• The Spartans are currently 44-54 lifetime against the Pandas but have lost five of their last six conference matches against Alberta.
• Alberta defeated Thompson Rivers 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-23) in the other semi-final.
• In the final U SPORTS Top 10 rankings on February 17, Alberta was No. 1, UBC was No. 2, TRU was No. 6, and TWU was No. 7.
• The final CW standings had Alberta No. 1 (18-2), UBC No. 2 (17-3), TWU No. 3 (15-5), and TRU No. 4 (14-6).
• With Canada West having four berths at next week's U SPORTS championship, all teams competing in the final four (Alberta, UBC, TWU, and TRU) have already qualified. The Canada West Final Four will determine CW seeding at the U SPORTS championship.
• The Spartans host of the U SPORTS championship March 13-16.

 
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.  
 
About Canada West:
As the leading university athletic conference in the country, Canada West is home to student-athletes that excel in the classroom and their communities. The conference is comprised of 17 member institutions spanning from Victoria to Winnipeg, with over 3,200 student-athletes competing across 14 sports. Canada West's mission is to train leaders and build champions by providing leadership in the delivery, regulation, and promotion of university level high performance sports programs throughout western Canada.
 
 
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