LANGLEY, B.C. – For the second consecutive night, the Spartans women’s volleyball team came out on top over UBC Okanagan, winning in straight sets (25-21, 25-22, 25-19) Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
The win improves first place TWU to 16-2 atop the conference standings, while the loss drops UBC Okanagan’s record to 6-10.
Avery Heppell (Langley) and Hilary Howe (Calgary) each had nine kills for the No. 1 ranked Spartans, with Heppell hitting .471 in the match. Howe also added a game-high 10 digs for TWU, while Dora Komlodi (Calgary) chipping in with 19 assists.
UBCO was sparked by its serving, with Hellen Lacava, Natalie Livingston and Amaya Perry each credited with four service aces in the match. Perry added eight kills for the Heat, while Lacava added seven.
Both teams were knotted up four times through the opening stages of the first set, before TWU eventually showed signs of pulling away at 17-12. UBC Okanagan however would go on a 5-0 run to tie the game up again, before an Ansah Odoom (Surrey, B.C.) kill helped sparked a 7-0 run for the home side. On set point the Heat then scored four points, before a service error from Perry gave TWU a 25-21 first set victory.
After surrendering the opening point of the second set, the Spartans went on a 6-0 run to take a 6-1 lead. The Heat then responded to take 12 of the next 20 points to sit just one point back. After both teams traded points, the Spartans then pulled ahead to take the second set 25-22. Komlodi had four digs and Howe had four kills in the set for TWU, while Lacava had a pair of service aces for the Heat.
TWU then took control in the third set, taking the first point and never looking back, winning the set 25-19 and taking the game in straight-sets. The Spartans hit an efficient .424 (17-3-33) highlighted by four kills apiece from Howe, Heppell and Mikaelyn Sych (Airdrie, Alta.).
The Spartans hit .280 (35-12-82) in the match compared to UBC Okanagan’s .054 (26-21-92).
QUOTABLE
Ryan Hofer – TWU Head Coach
“Once we figured out our attacking tonight we saw a big improvement. It was really promising to see our efficiency improve, with Hilary, Ansah, Avery and Mikaelyn all hitting over .250. We need to continue to learn how to manage the ball well, because when we do, we go from hitting .150 to .420 – and that’s a huge difference right there.
“Full props to UBC Okanagan, their athletes are really good servers and they put us under a lot of pressure which really tested our passers – but that’s what we need at this time of the season. We know the teams that we’re facing now all know how to serve the ball, they all know how to put pressure on us with the block, so we need to find better ways of getting that ball up in the air so our attackers and setters can do their job.
NOTABLE
- The Spartans improve to 18-5 all-time against the Heat, with their latest sweep following last year’s season series on the road, also in straight sets (Oct. 26-27, 2018).
- TWU also improved to a Canada West leading 16-2 record with the win.
- UBC Okanagan had a 15-7 advantage in service errors in the match.
NEXT UP
The Spartans are back in action next weekend, traveling to UBC to take on the Thunderbirds Friday (6 p.m.) and Saturday (5 p.m.) at War Memorial Gym.
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