EDMONTON, Alberta– A resilient Trinity Western Spartans team earned a place in the Canada West championship match with a five-set win over the UBC Thunderbirds Friday night at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton, Alta. The 20-25, 25-22, 25-21, 17-25, 15-13 win also gives the Spartans a higher ranking when they host next week's U SPORTS championship. UBC will now play Thompson Rivers in the bronze medal match, with both teams already heading to next weeks nationals.
 
Fourth-year outside Maryn Boldon (Okotoks, Alta.) with 19 kills, 12 digs, four blocks, and two aces, third-year middle Isabella Stothart (Airdrie, Alta.) with nine kills, while hitting .500, and four blocks, and Fifth-year outside/middle Kaylee Plouffe (Sherwood Park, Alta.) with eight kills, 12 digs, and one ace led the Spartans. Lucy Borowski, with 23 kills, 16 digs, two blocks, and one ace, and Kylee Glanville, with 16 kills, eight digs, four blocks, and three aces, led the Thunderbirds.
 
TWU second-year setter Tayana Dmitruk (Surrey, B.C.) led the Spartans' attack and finished with 34 set assists. UBC's Issy Robertshaw finished with 42 set assists for the Thunderbirds.
 
UP NEXT
The Spartans will now play in the gold medal match against the fourth-ranked No. 1 Alberta Pandas, who upset the No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds 3-0 in the first semi-final. Both teams will also advance to the U SPORTS championship next week in Windsor, Ont.
 
QUOTABLE
Maryn Boldon on the match
"We know UBC Thunderbirds are such an amazing all-around team, so we just had to maintain a steady attitude and rely on our game to pull us through. It was a great match - it could have gone either way - so kudos to both teams."
 
AS IT HAPPENED
It was an incredibly close opening set, with the teams exchanging mini-runs in a set that featured 11 ties and seven lead changes. That was, until UBC's attack behind Elizabeth Lee and Kylee Glanville would lead the Thunderbirds on a 6-0 run mid-set that captured the momentum in a 25-20 win. Lee, Glanville, and Lucy Borowski combined for 11 kills in the frame for UBC, while Maryn Boldon paced the Spartans with four.
 
The margins were tight again in the second set, which featured another 12 ties and four lead changes. UBC held the momentum until a 5-2 TWU run mid-set that changed the Spartans fortunes, as they would hold on for a 25-22 set win. Boldon was strong again in the frame, recording a team-high three kills.
 
The Spartans looked to have figured their attack out in the early third, jumping out to a 10-4 lead, but UBC with an 8-2 run immediately after led by Borowski to get back in the all-important middle frame. However, the Spartans would take a five-point lead shortly after and ride it the whole way out to take a commanding 2-1 match lead. Boldon was massive in the frame, hitting a set-high seven kills, pacing a Spartans attack that hit a game-high .324 in the set.
 
This game was never going to let the fourth set be the decisive frame, as UBC took command early for the, amazingly, largest set win of the match at 25-17. The offence, led by Borowski with a frame-high six kills, hit .324 as a team to force a fifth set with a berth in the CW Championship on the line.
 
The teams traded 3-point runs to open the fifth, and inched forward to an 8-7 Thunderbirds lead at the halfway mark. The Spartans would threaten early after that, but a strong 3-0 run would put the 'Birds up 12-10. However, after knotting the game at 13-13, the Spartans would take both points, including a service ace from Boldon to win the game.
 
NOTABLE

• The Spartans finished the night hitting an .184 (50-22-152) while the Thunderbirds finished at .247 (65-25-162).
• UBC had the edge in blocks 9-8, and digs 72-60.
• Thile TWU had the edge in service aces 10-6.
• Earlier this year, the Spartans lost 3-1 to the Thunderbirds at home in Langley, B.C., and 3-2 on the road in Vancouver, B.C.
• TWU is currently 34-61 lifetime against the UBC Thunderbirds. TWU has lost its last six conference matches against UBC.
• On the final weekend of the opening semester, TWU split with the No. 1 Alberta Pandas, losing 3-0 and winning 3-2 on the road in Edmonton, Alta.
• The Spartans are currently 44-53 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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