LANGLEY, B.C. – A career night from Eric Loeppky (Steinbach, Man.) propelled the Trinity Western men’s volleyball team to a straight sets victory over the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
Loeppky set the TWU record in the first set, earning his 130th career ace and surpassing Spartan alum Josh Howatson (2003-2007) in the process.
With the win the Spartans regular season record improves to 8-1 on the season, while the loss drops Saskatchewan to 5-4.
Loeppky led the Spartans attack on the night, finishing with 10 kills, five serving aces and two digs on .833 hitting. Jacob Kern (Edmonton) added eight kills, three aces and five digs, while Derek Epp (Saskatoon, Sask.) had a game-high 20 assists in the win.
The Huskies were led by Dylan Mortensen’s five kills and three digs, along with 10 assists from CJ Gavlas.
Loeppky guided the Spartans in the first set, adding four kills and two serving aces as TWU took the first set 25-19.
TWU kept rolling into the second set, scoring 10 straight points to take a 13-4 lead before ultimately taking the second set 25-14.
Into the third set the Huskies provided some pushback, with both teams trading points up to 10-10.
The Spartans then went on to outscore Saskatchewan 15-7 to take the game in straight-sets and earn their seventh consecutive victory.
TWU has now won 21 straight sets and have dropped a mere three sets through nine games this season.
The Spartans held a .386 hitting percentage compared to Saskatchewan’s .226 in the match.
QUOTABLE
Ben Josephson – TWU Head Coach
“We were really concerned about this team all week; they’ve had a really good season with their new coach doing a tremendous job with them. Tonight we just served really well and they didn’t, but if you look back the game today with the ball in play the game was much closer than the score would indicate. Because our servers were so hot and theirs never really got onto a roll it made the score more lopsided than it should have been.
“We have a ton of respect for them, their setter Gavlas is very talented and so is their outside hitter Mortensen who’s put up an incredible season so far. Their middle Sinoski went to the same high school in Prince Albert, he’s a really special player and it’s always nice to see a good Carlton boy play. Their key players in large part were neutralized and taken care of by the way we served today.
On Eric Loeppky’s Career Aces Record
“I’ve been here for a long time and seen all the guys play that he’s passed, the numbers speak for themselves and this is only his fourth year. I know we play more matches today than we did years ago, but I’d bet if you look at his total matches played it’s right around any of those guys. It’s pretty special company to be around, there’s just so many legends that have come through this program we’ve been so blessed to watch play, and Eric is one of them. Now we need to see if he can run down that Canada West record and then which one of these guys will run him down eventually.”
NOTABLE
- The Spartans picked up their seventh consecutive three-set win, coming after last weekend’s sweep over the Manitoba Bisons (Nov. 15-16).
- Saskatchewan came to town after a pair of wins on the road against UBC Okanagan (Nov. 15-16).
- TWU won both games against the Huskies last season.
NEXT UP
The Spartans once again take on Saskatchewan Saturday (7 p.m. PT) at the Langley Events Centre Building B.
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]