CALGARY – The defending Canada West champion Trinity Western Spartans continued its preseason in fine form with a 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) victory over the Western Mustangs Friday afternoon at the Dino Cup.

Fourth-year outside hitter Hillary Howe (Calgary) led the game with 14 kills. Second-year setter Olivia Heinen (Langley) and third-year setter Dora Komlodi (Calgary) split the setting duties for TWU, with Heinen recording 14 assists while Komlodi added 13 of her own to go along with her three aces.

The Mustangs attack was led by Melissa Langegger, who recorded six kills, while Jessica Lam had 10 assists for Western.

Jayda Harder (Waldheim, Sask.) solidified the Spartan defence with six blocks, while Kristina Curcin and Kate Ferguson each had seven for the Mustangs.

QUOTABLE
Ryan Hofer – TWU Head Coach
“I’m pleased. We’re getting better each and every set, figuring out new things together as a new group, including our communication levels. We’re figuring out what it’s like to have two new setters running our show and they’re getting better every day and doing a great job.

“We’re learning how to reduce our errors, which I feel we gave a lot away today and we’re trying to raise our efficiency, whether that’s in passing, serving, attacking or decision-making while helping each other improve.”

NOTABLE
• TWU and Western last faced each other on Oct. 15, 2016, when the Spartans defeated the Mustangs 3-1 at UBC’s West Coast Classic Tournament.
• TWU finished the night hitting .115 (32-21-96) while Western hit .000 (23-23-94).
• The Spartans had a 9-6 advantage in aces, while the Mustangs had a 14-9 edge in total blocks. TWU also had a 30-22 edge in assists.

UP NEXT
The Spartans will continue Dino Cup action tomorrow evening when they take on the University of Alberta Pandas at 5 p.m. PT.

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]