LANGLEY, B.C. – The No. 1-ranked Trinity Western women’s volleyball team earned a 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-21) win over Winnipeg in the Spartans home-opener Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
Fourth-year TWU outside Hilary Howe (Calgary) was instrumental in the win, as she had a match-high 16 kills while hitting .407 to help the Spartans improve to 3-0 on the year.
Ashleigh Laube had 10 kills for the Wesmen, who dropped to 0-3.
Beyond Howe, TWU’s Savannah Purdy (Victoria), who was last year’s Canada West Rookie of the Year, had 10 kills, while fellow second-year Emma Gamache (Abbotsford, B.C.) had a match-high 19 digs.
With Howe earning five kills to lead the home side, the Spartans took the first set, hitting .242 as a team and collecting five blocks. Winnipeg’s Laube had four kills for a Wesmen side that hit .111.
The Spartans continued to roll in the second set, with Howe picking up another seven kills to lead TWU to a 10-point win on the strength of a .280 hitting percentage. Winnipeg was held to a -.059 hitting percentage.
While the third set saw Winnipeg largely hang with the defending Canada West champion Spartans – TWU hit .079 compared to Winnipeg’s .042 – the result remained the same, with the home side pulling away for the win.
QUOTABLE
Ryan Hofer – TWU Head Coach
“You’re playing in your home gym and it’s banner-raising night and there was a lot going on, so it was nice to see the team find a way to put some of that stuff aside and earn a win. I thought there were moments today when we did a really nice job, but we still need to work on some areas as we continue to learn and grow. Winnipeg put us under pressure at times, but we were able to find a way through. I think we need to find a way to connect our middles and setters a bit better, but it’s early times in the season and we’re happy to move on with a victory.”
NOTABLE
• TWU finished with a 9-6 edge in blocks and a 9-4 advantage in aces.
• In a post-game ceremony, the Spartans raised their Canada West championship banner.
• The Spartans won last year’s season series against the Wesmen, as TWU took both matches in four sets on the road in Winnipeg (Nov. 9-10).
• The Spartans have won 28 straight matches against the Wesmen. The last time TWU lost to Winnipeg was Nov. 13, 2004 when the Wesmen completed a weekend sweep of the Spartans.
UP NEXT
The Spartans and Wesmen will play the rematch Saturday at 5 p.m. (PT) at the LEC.
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, cross country and track & field, as well as women’s rugby sevens. TWU also competes in the British Columbia Intercollegiate Hockey League (BCIHL) in men’s hockey and as an independent team in men’s rugby. The men’s and women’s hockey programs will begin playing in Canada West and U SPORTS in 2020-21. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 12 U SPORTS team championships and 27 Canada West team championships and two BCIHL championships.
[SOURCE: Trinity Western University]