VIDEO: MEN'S VOLLEYBALL HOSTS WESMEN
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 2010
WEEKEND PREVIEW
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
VIDEO: MEN'S VOLLEYBALL HOSTS WESMEN
LANGLEY, British Columbia - The No. 3 ranked Trinity Western men's volleyball team (6-2) returns to Langley this weekend to play host to the visiting Winnipeg Wesmen (1-6). The Spartans will play Friday at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE GAME LIVE
SPARTANS (6-2)
CIS Ranking: 3rd
Canada West Standing: 4th
Last Week: Alberta 3-0 W, 3-1 L
Streak: 1 Loss
2009-10 CW Record: 11-7, 4th
2010 CW Playoffs: 1-1, 2nd
2010 CIS Tournament: 2-1, 2nd
Last CW Title: 2007
Last CIS Title: 2006
TWU Lifetime vs Winnipeg: 18-14
The Spartans are coming off a road weekend in which they split a two-game series with No. 1 ranked Alberta (now No. 2). Trinity Western won the opening game in straight sets (25-20, 25-23, 25-23) to knock the Golden Bears from their undefeated perch, but the following night, Alberta roared back with a convincing 3-1 win to even the series (25-12, 25-17, 27-29, 25-18).
Trinity Western will now look to get back into the win column against a Winnipeg team that is coming off its first win of the season, a 3-0 victory over Saskatchewan.
Through the first eight games of the year, the Spartans are clearly proving to be a team that is going to win with effective blocking and efficient hitting percentages.
The Spartans are tops in the CIS with 3.42 blocks per game, led by Lucas Van Berkel, with a conference-leading 1.74 blocks per game, Dan Jansen Van with 1.23 blocks per game (3rd in CW) and Rudy Verhoeff with 1.08 blocks per game (8th in CW).
As a team, the Spartans are only allowing the opposition to hit at a rate of 20.4 per cent (3rd in CW), while offensively TWU is hitting 26.6 per cent (4th in CW). The Spartans are also second in CW in service aces with 1.06 per game.
Where TWU has struggled as a team is in digging with only 8.16 digs per game (8th in CW) and assists (11.58 per game, 7th in CW).
Individually, Verhoeff leads the offence in kills with 3.62 per game (5th in CW) and in points with 4.31 per game (4th in CW). Mikiah Schalk has the team’s top hitting percentage (29.3 per cent, 8thin CW) with Van Berkel not far behind at 28.7 per cent (10th in CW).
Ben Ball is second in CW with 10.35 assists per game while Van Berkel is third in the conference with 0.32 aces per game. Jarrod Offereins is seventh in CW with 2.26 digs per game.
WESMEN (1-6)
CIS Ranking: N/A
Canada West Standing: 10th
Last Week: Saskatchewan 3-1 L, 3-1 W
Streak: 1 Win
2009-10 CW Record: 11-7, 5th
2010 CW Playoffs: 1-2
2010 CIS Tournament: N/A
Last CW Title: N/A
Last CIS Title: 2007
Winnipeg Lifetime vs TWU: 14-18
The Wesmen started the year with six losses in a row but finally snapped the losing streak with a 3-0 home win over Saskatchewan last Saturday’s night.
Although the Wesmen have only one win to show for their seven outings thus far, they have only been swept in straight sets once all year and three of their losses came while playing Calgary and Manitoba, who are both ranked in the CIS Top 10.
With a number of departed players from last year’s roster, including Andrew Town, Justin Duff and Maurice Williams, Winnipeg is a very young team that features only two players with more than two years of CIS volleyball experience.
As a team, the Wesmen have struggled in the hitting percentage department as they are last in CW with at 12.8 per cent. Ty Loewen leads the team with 2.84 kills per game while Marc Ross has 2.69 per game and rookie Tom Douglas-Powell has 2.62 per game.
In last Saturday’s win, Ross had a Winnipeg season high 47.8 hitting percentage while the night before Loewen had a season high 17 kills.
Dan Lother leads the team with 9.25 assists per game (8th in CW) while Dominique Pereira has 4.06 per game. Brendan Black is tied for first in the conference with 0.33 service aces per game.
Defensively they are marginally better as the opposition is hitting 23.0 per cent (6th in CW) and the Wesmen are averaging a conference high 12.22 digs per game. Rookie Nathaniel Therrien leads the team with 2.64 digs per game (4th in CW) while Ross has 2.27 per game (6th in CW) and Lother has 2.10 per game (9th in CW).
In last Friday’s loss to Saskatchewan, Therrien had a season high 20 digs.
-TW-
Last Updated: 2010-11-25
Email: Mark.Janzen@twu.ca