MEN’S VOLLEYBALL HOSTS SPARTANS HOLIDAY CLASSIC

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL HOSTS SPARTANS HOLIDAY CLASSIC

FOLLOW TOURNAMENT LIVE:

LIVE VIDEO: LINK
LIVE STATS: LINK

Tournament Schedule

January 3rd, 2010
Game 1       1pm:   UBC    3  v     Dalhousie 0 (25-22, 28-26, 25-23)
Game 2       3pm:   TRU  0   v     Queen's 3 (25-16, 25-21, 25-22)
Game 3       6pm:   Calgary 3 v     UBC-Okanagan 0 (25-14, 25-15, 25-21)
Game 4       8pm:   TWU 3     v     FVVC Men 0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-19)

January 4th, 2010
Game 6       3pm:     TRU   3  v     UBC-Okanagan 1 : (25-16, 19-25, 25-21, 25-19)
Game 7       6pm:     UBC  1 v     Calgary 3 (25-20, 22-25, 25-15, 25-22)
Game 8       8pm:     Queen's 1  v     TWU 3 (25-23, 19-25, 25-17, 25-21)

January 5th, 2010
Game 9    1pm:     Dalhousie  2   v     UBC-Okanagan 1 (25-20, 26-24, 28-30) shortened match
Game10   3pm:     TRU   0 v     FVVC Men 3 (25-22, 25-23, 25-23)
Game11   6pm:     Bronze: UBC     2  v     Queens 3 (25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11)
Game12   8pm:   Championship:  Calgary  0 v     TWU 3 (25-22, 25-14, 27-25)

Seeding: B.C. v Non-B.C.
BC1: TWU           Non1: Calgary
BC2: TRU            Non2: Dalhousie
BC3: UBC            Non3: Queen's
BC4: UBC-O        Non4: FVVC Men

Final Standings:

TWU 3-0
Calgary 2-1
Queens 2-1
UBC 1-2
TRU 1-2
FVVC 1-1
Dal 1-1
UBC-O 0-3

 

*Schedule subject to change

The No. 4 ranked Trinity Western men’s volleyball team will host the Spartans Holiday Classic Jan. 3-5 at the Langley Events Centre with several of the top teams in Canada set to hit the floor.

The eight-team tournament will give the Spartans an opportunity to compete against three of the Top 10 teams in the current CIS rankings in a tournament structure that mirrors that of the CIS national championship, which TWU will host Mar. 4-6.

“The Holiday Classic has really three objectives,” said Spartans men’s volleyball coach Ben Josephson. “It provides three high quality exhibition matches for our team as we prepare for the second semester.  It exposes us to the same format as the national championships in the same venue.  And finally it allows our department to have a 'dress rehearsal' for nationals so we can iron out any wrinkly details.”

The tournament will feature No. 3 ranked Calgary (8-0 in Canada West), No. 8 Dalhousie (5-3 in AUS), No. 9 Thompson Rivers (3-5 in Canada West), UBC (4-6 in Canada West), Queen’s (8-2 in OUA), UBC-Okanagan (7-1 in BCCAA) and FVVC Men (a team from the Fraser Valley Volleyball Club made up of alumni and a few current Spartans).

Trinity Western comes into the tournament having swept their final Canada West weekend series of the first semester with a pair of 3-0 wins over Winnipeg and have now won six of its last seven games. But with such high quality across-Canada competition participating in the tournament, the Spartans will be in tough to defend their home court.

The Spartans will be led by fourth-year setter Ben Ball – whose 387 assists is second most in the CIS – Rudy Verhoeff – whose 3.61 kills per set is 10th best in the CIS – and Lucas Van Berkel, whose 1.68 blocks per set is second in Canada.

The tournament will also feature, amongst other notable names, Calgary’s Graham Vigrass, who is the top percentage hitter in the CIS (45.9 per cent), Thompson River’s Kevin Tillie, whose 4.79 kills per set is second most in the CIS and UBC’s Blair Bann, who is the top libero in Canada with 4.24 digs per set.

-TW-

Last Updated: 2011-01-05
Author: Scott Stewart