SPARTANS TO HOST COUGARS IN TOP TEN MATCH-UP

WOMENS VOLLEYBALL (CANADA WEST)
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13, 2010
WEEKEND PREVIEW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SPARTANS TO HOST COUGARS IN TOP TEN MATCH-UP

LANGLEY, British Columbia – The No. 4 ranked Trinity Western University Spartans are set to take on the No. 6 ranked University of Regina Cougars.  The Spartans come into the matchup after earning a split with Alberta (1-3, 3-1) last weekend while the Cougars are coming off a pair of losses to the top ranked UBC Thunderbirds (2-3, 1-3).  Leading the way for the Spartans last week was fifth year Carmen Dyck (Creston, B.C.) with 24 kills over the weekend.  The Cougars were led by fifth year Beth Clark and third year Megan Onstad with 24 kills apiece.  It should be a hard fought match as potential Canada West hosting playoff spots are in the mix as both teams need to move up in the standings and cannot afford to drop matches.  

REGINA
The Regina Cougars fell last week in a pair of loses to the top ranked University of British Columbia Thunderbirds by scores of 2-3 (25-17,13-25,25-18,20-25,12-15) and 1-3 (19-25,25-14,18-25,26-28).  The Cougars top two offensive players continued to produce even in the loss.  Third year outside Meagan Onstad (Weyburn, Sask.) and fifth year middle Beth Clark (Regina) had 24 kills on the weekend.  Third year libero Rebecca Rink (Headingly, Man.) also had a strong weekend recording 27 digs.

Offence
The Regina Cougars have a very strong tandem on offense.  Fifth year middle Beth Clark leads all Canada West with a .368 hitting percentage.  She has recorded 117 kills on the year.   Third year outside Megan Onstad has 100 kills on the year.  Third year setter Tiffany Herman (Craven, Sask.) is a large reason for the success of those players.  She is averaging 9.20 assists per game which puts her fourth in all of Canada West.

Defence
The Regina Cougars have the fifth best defense in Canada West.  Third year libero Rebecca Rink (Headingly, Man.) is averaging 3.07 digs per game.  There are five other Cougar players who are averaging 2.00 digs per game or better.  Fifth year middle Beth Clark is leading the team with 1.11 blocks per game.

Conclusion
The offence for the Cougars will need to produce.  The Spartans defence has been solid at the net and at digging the ball this year.  Beth Clark will need to have a solid match as well as she leads the team offensively and defensively.  


SPARTANS

The Spartans earned a split last weekend as they hosted the No. 5 ranked University of Alberta Pandas.  The Spartans dropped Fridays match 1-3 (25-19,17-25,20-25,20-25) but came back to win Saturdays match 3-1 (17-25,25-17,25-13,25-16).  Leading the way for the Spartans was fifth year outside Carmen Dyck with 24 kills over the weekend.  On the defensive end fourth year libero Andrea Ball (Abbotsford, B.C.) recorded 34 digs over the weekend.

Offence
The Spartan sixth ranked offense has been led through fourth year outside Kara Jansen Van Dorn (Langley, B.C.) and fifth year outside Kim Klassen (Abbotsford, B.C.) who have 170 and 124 kills respectively.  Kara Jansen Van Dorn’s 3.33 kills per game is good enough for fourth best in Canada West.  Third year setter Lauren O’Reilly (Langley, B.C.) is averaging 8.74 assists per game which puts her seventh in all of Canada West.  Third year middle Ismay Shon (Langley, B.C.) has 14 service aces on the year and averages .33 aces per game, eighth best in Canada West.

Defence
The Spartans come into tonight’s match with the fourth best defense in Canada West.  They have held their opponents to a .156 hitting percentage.   Strong blocking has helped contribute to a strong defence as the Spartans are currently third in Canada West blocking.  Ismay Shon is averaging 1.16 blocks per game second in Canada West.  Andrea Ball is averaging 3.69 digs per game which puts her second in Canada West.

Conclusion
The Spartans will look to put together their third sweep of the season.  They will need to continue to have strong defense, as the Cougars possess a very dynamic duo.  Look for the Spartans blocking and digging abilities to give them an advantage.

AT A GLANCE
Spartans (6-6)                    
CIS Ranking 4th                    
Last Week: UofA 1-3 L, UofA 3-1 W                             
2008 Conference: 14-4 (4th)                
2008 CW Championship: 3-2 (2nd)            
2008 CIS Championship: 2-1 (5th)            
Last CW Title: NA                    
Last CIS Title:    NA                    

Regina (6-4)
CIS Ranking: 6th
Last Week: UBC 2-3 L, UBC 1-3 L
2008 Conference: (10-10) (7th)
2008 CW Championship: 0-2
2008 CIS Championship:  NA
Last CW Title: NA
Last CIS Title: NA

Last Updated: 2010-01-14
Author: Scott Stewart
Email: ssstew@twu.ca