LANGLEY, British Columbia – The No. 2-ranked Trinity Western men’s volleyball is at home this weekend and will host No. 9 Brandon Friday and Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
WATCH: www.canadwest.tv
WEEKEND PREVIEW
Friday, Feb. 3 vs. Brandon (11-7) – 7 p.m. (PT)
Saturday, Feb. 4 vs. Brandon (11-7) – 7 p.m. (PT)
THE WEEKEND STORY
- The Spartans dropped one spot in the national rankings after a split with No. 4 Alberta on the road last weekend. After a four-set loss Friday, TWU bounced back to win a three-setter Saturday.
- This weekend marks the second straight weekend in which Brandon has taken on the No. 2-ranked team in U SPORTS. Last weekend, the Bobcats played now-No. 1 Manitoba and lost both matches in three sets.
- Last year, the teams split their regular season series, with Brandon winning 3-0 and the Spartans responding with a four-set victory.
- The Spartans and Bobcats have split their last four regular season series. The last time TWU earned a weekend sweep was Nov. 11-12, 2011. Brandon has never swept TWU.
- TWU is 13-7 all-time in the regular season against Brandon.
- The Bobcats and Spartans have met in the playoffs in four of the last six years, including 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
- The most famous of those four matches was the 2011 national championship gold medal game, which the Spartans won in three sets at the LEC.
- Fifth-year Spartan Ryan Sclater is coming off a match in which he set TWU’s all-time career record for kills. With his final kill of the night, Sclater passed TWU’s Steven Rogalsky for the Spartan lead and now sits 11th overall in Canada West with 1,082 kills.
- Sclater is second in Canada West with 4.38 kills per set and third in the conference with a .316 hitting percentage.
- TWU has three of the top four most efficient attackers in Canada West. Jacob Kern is second (.327) and Eric Loeppky is tied for third (.316).
- Aaron Boettcher leads Canada West with 0.61 aces per set. Josh Howatson holds the Spartans single-season record for aces per set at 0.65. Boettcher is also third in the conference with 1.21 blocks per set.
- TWU has three of the top five Canada West athletes in aces per set, with Loeppky second (0.53) and Sclater tied for third (0.43).
- Adam Schriemer is second in Canada West with 10.28 assists per set.
- Brandon’s Roy Ching is fourth in the conference with 4.00 kills per set. Ching is sixth all-time in career kills in Canada West with 1,171
TRINITY WESTERN SPARTANS (16-2)
U SPORTS ranking: No. 2
Canada West Standings: 2nd
Last Game: Alberta (3-0 W)
Streak: 1 win
Form: W-W-W-L-W
2015-16 CW Regular Season Record: 14-10
2015-16 CW Playoff Record: 4-0 (1st)
BRANDON BOBCATS (11-7)
CIS ranking: No. 9
Canada West Standings: 6th
Last Match: Manitoba (3-0 L)
Canada West Streak: 2 losses
Form: W-W-W-L-L
2015-16 CW Regular Season Record: 7-17
2015-16 CW Playoff Record: Did Not Qualify
