Scheduled Game: @Manitoba*

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GAME RESULTS 1 2 3 T Trinity Western 21 19 17 0 Manitoba 25 25 25 3 « FINAL

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Game Recap

MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
FRIDAY, JANUARY 27, 2012
MANITOBA (3) TRINITY WESTERN (0)
(25-21, 25-19, 25-17)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPARTANS FALL TO BISONS, SUFFER FIRST LOSS OF SEASON

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The No. 1 Trinity Western men’s volleyball team saw its quest for a perfect season come to an end as the Spartans fell 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-17) to the No. 2 Manitoba Bisons Friday at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.

The Bisons were the better team from start to finish on this night as they held the top-ranked Spartans to just a .184 attacking percentage, while hitting .338 themselves, and didn’t allow the best serving team in the conference to register a single ace. With 11 serving errors and 23 attack errors, the Spartans didn’t do themselves any favours as they lost to a CIS opponent for the first time in 23 games.

Manitoba was led by Dane Pischke, who had nine kills and four digs, Chris Voth, who had seven kills and three blocks, and Joseph Brooks, who had six kills and three blocks.

The Spartans were led by Steven Marshall, who had a game-high 16 kills, to go along with a game-high five blocks and six digs, while Rudy Verhoeff had nine kills and three blocks and setter Ben Ball had 39 assists and three digs.

With the win, Bisons coach Garth Pischke, who has been with Manitoba for 31 years, earned his 1200th career coaching victory, which is tops in CIS history.

The win improves Manitoba’s record to 14-1 while the loss drops Trinity Western to 14-1. Both are tied for the top spot in the conference.

“The scores weren’t close in the game and that probably reflects the game,” said Spartans coach Ben Josephson. “We got out-played in every facet of the game. They had more passion and more heart and they did everything it takes to win a tough conference match.

“We made a lot of errors but they are a great blocking team and are a great defensive group. Serving never really got going for us they didn’t allow it to and that’s what can happen when you play the best team we’ve seen all season.”

With the score 9-8 in favour of the Bisons in the first set, Manitoba went on a 3-0 run, capped by a Voth kill that set the tone for the rest of the set and gave the home side momentum. The Spartans got back to within one point at 19-18, but would get no closer as the Bisons responded with a 3-0 run to give them a 22-18 advantage and what would be an insurmountable four-point lead. A Trinity Western attack error gave Manitoba the first set 25-21.

In the second set, Manitoba was dominant from the outset. Taking advantage of five Trinity Western attack errors and a serving error, the Bisons built a 13-6 lead.

The Spartans rallied to get within three points at19-16, after a Marshall kill, but would sneak no closer.

With Trinity Western hitting just .129 in the set and Manitoba hitting .360, the Bisons closed things out in short order, winning the set 25-19.

In the third set, the Bisons continued to ride their wave of momentum and the Spartans mistakes continued to mount.

With the score 10-10, Manitoba went on a 5-1 run that gave the Bisons a decisive advantage. From there, Manitoba pushed its lead well beyond the reach of the Spartans as they rolled to a 25-17 win, with the Bisons final three points coming via Trinity Western serving errors.
 
The two teams meet again on Saturday at 8 p.m. CT at the Investors Group Athletic Centre.

Game Notes – Manitoba finished with three aces to TWU’s none…TWU had 8.5 blocks to Manitoba’s 6.5.

-TW-

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