LANGLEY, B.C. – Trinity Western's Avery Heppell had a career-high 15 kills to go with five aces to lead the No. 2-ranked Spartans to a 3-1 (15-25, 25-19, 25-17, 25-22) win over No. 1 Calgary Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
The win completes a weekend sweep of the top-ranked Dinos and keeps the Spartans perfect record intact through the first 12 games of their regular season. Having dropped both matches this weekend against TWU, the previously unbeaten Dinos are now 10-2 on the year.
Along with Heppell, TWU's Hilary Howe had 12 kills, including six in the decisive fourth set. Howe also had five blocks. Ashtyn McKenzie had eight kills and 10 digs, while Mikaelyn Sych had seven kills and match-high eight blocks. Setter Brie King had 40 assists, four kills and four blocks. Libero Emma Gamache had 21 digs.
Calgary's
Kate Pexman and
Hannah Tanasichuk had 12 kills each, while
Emma Kastelein had a team-high eight blocks. Pexman also had four aces.
Kennedy Snape had 21 digs.
TWU finished with a .219 hitting percentage, while Calgary hit .193. At the net, it was TWU with a 12-9 edge in blocks.
After a quick start from the Spartans in the first set, the Dinos took over with a 10-1 run that saw Calgary take a 12-5 lead after Tanasichuk earned one of her six kills in the set. Calgary extended its lead to as much as 11 points, 22-11, after a Pexman ace before taking the set by 10 points. Calgary hit .154 and had four aces, while TWU hit -.059 with just one ace.
TWU responded in the second set, building a 5-1 lead and pushing its advantage to 10-3 after an ace from King. The Dinos never got back into the set and TWU held on for a six-point win. Heppell had five kills in the set to lead TWU, who hit .343. Calgary's Pexman had a team-high four kills in the set, while Tanasichuk was held to just one kill.
With momentum in their corner, the Spartans opened a 10-4 lead in the third set and continued to run way with the set. Heppell had another six kills to go with two aces in the set and TWU took the set by eight points after hitting .367. Pexman and
Kenzie Vaandering each had three kills for Calgary.
In the fourth set, TWU surged ahead midway through the set with a 4-1 run that put the Spartans ahead 12-9. The teams traded points until the technical timeout, with TWU continuing to hold a three-point edge. Holding a 24-20 lead, the Spartans appeared primed to end the set and match, but a game Dinos side tallied back-to-back points to force TWU to take a late timeout. However, out of the break, a Dinos serving error ended the match.
The Spartans will have a month off before getting back on the court Jan. 4-5 with a trip to play Brandon. Calgary will prepare to compete in the University of Alberta's post-Christmas tournament (Dec. 29-30) before returning to regular season action Jan. 4-5 on the road against UBC Okanagan.
