LANGLEY, B.C. – The No. 1-ranked Trinity Western Men’s Spartans once again got the better of rival Brandon, defeating the Bobcats in four sets (25-20, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21) Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.

TWU (19-1) has now won 18 consecutive games, and sit first in the Canada West standings, three wins clear of second place Alberta. Brandon’s regular season record moves 11-7.

Eric Loeppky (Steinbach, Man.) recorded 19 kills for Trinity Western, as he moved into sole possession for third all-time in program kills with 1,302. He passes Spartan alum Nicholas Del Bianco (2010-2014), who recorded 1,297 over his five-year Spartans tenure. 

Jacob Kern (Edmonton) and Jesse Elser (Calgary) each added 10 kills in the win, with Kern recording seven digs and three aces, and Elser hitting .368 with five digs. 

Robin Baghdady had a team high 14 kills, while Chayse Warkentin hit three serving aces for the Bobcats.

Both teams traded blows throughout the first set, before Brandon held a late 20-19 lead. TWU would then score six consecutive points to take the first set 25-20.

The second set was a similar scenario, with 17 tie scores throughout play. After the Spartans broke ahead for a 23-20 lead, Matthias Elser (Calgary) subbed in to record two consecutive aces and give the TWU a 25-20 second set victory.

Pressing to stay in the game, the Bobcats struck back in the third set. Brandon recorded three straight points to open the set, courtesy of two consecutive service aces from Chayse Warkentin. After the Spartans tied it up at 8-8 with a Kern service ace, Brandon would score four straight and lead the rest of the way, taking the third 25-20.

After the Spartans opened the fourth set with two quick points, Brandon would score four straight to take a 4-2 lead. TWU would then take a 6-5 lead and never look back, winning the final set 25-21 and picking up the weekend sweep over Brandon. 

The Spartans hit .361 (49-14-97) compared to Brandon’s .287 (41-16-87).

NOTABLE

• TWU now holds a 17-9 all-time record against Brandon in conference play.  
• Loeppky sits behind Steve Rogalsky (1,402) and Ryan Sclater (1,502) in all-time program kills.
• In last Friday’s win over UBC (Jan. 24), Loeppky broke the conference career aces record with his 147^th career ace. He now sits at 151 aces in his career.
• It was once again a rematch of last season’s U SPORTS national championship game, where TWU won in straight sets in Quebec City (Mar. 17, 2019).

NEXT UP
TWU now enter a bye-week, before finishing its regular season schedule on the road against Thompson Rivers in two weeks.