The top-ranked team in the nation lived up to its advance billing on Thursday evening, as the Trinity Western Spartans topped the University of the Fraser Valley in Canada West men's volleyball action.
The U SPORTS No. 1 Spartans prevailed by scores of 25-11, 25-15 and 25-13, and their offence was clicking all night – they hit .631 as a team.
The Cascades (0-13) and Spartans (13-0) complete the home-and-home series at the Langley Events Centre on Friday (8 p.m., CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op).
"They were definitely a little tighter and cleaner than they were last semester," observed Cascades senior setter
Graham Walkey, alluding to the fact that UFV took a combined three sets over two nights from the Spartans back in December.Â
"But really, we didn't bring the intensity today. We have to have the effort and mental focus the whole time to be able to hang in with these guys. We just didn't have it today."
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Two straight
Eduardo Ferreira aces kept the Cascades close early in the first set, but the Spartans were red-hot from the service line themselves. They posted three aces of their own in the set – including two from Jackson Howe – and kept UFV from getting its offence rolling en route to a 25-11 victory.
Bailey Burdick came off the bench to give the Cascades a lift in the second – he notched a block and a kill on back-to-back points to put the hosts up 5-4 early, but the Spartans were able to steadily pull away in the middle portion of the set. The visitors were cooking offensively, with 18 kills against just one error as a team, and Brodie Hofer led the way with five kills as TWU took it 25-15.
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The Spartans continued to roll in the third, scoring the first seven points of the set with Jesse Elser at the service line, and they went on to close it out 25-13.
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"We had a bit of a slow start, but when you give these guys momentum, it's so tough to bring it back," Walkey noted. "Their serving was at the top of their game, and we were struggling to pass."
The Cascades, playing the first game of a four-games-in-five-days stretch, rested their starters after the first set. Burdick and
Comrie Engbers had five kills apiece, and
Stefan Halas chipped in with four. Walkey had 16 assists.Â
Elser and Hofer tied for team-high honours with nine kills apiece for the Spartans, who set a program record for hitting efficiency. Jackson Howe added seven kills and two service aces.Â
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