WEEKEND PREVIEW: SPARTANS RETURN HOME TO FACE COUGARS

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL (CANADA WEST)
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2011
WEEKEND PREVIEW

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WEEKEND PREVIEW: SPARTANS RETURN HOME TO FACE COUGARS

LANGLEY, British Columbia – This weekend 2011 CIS bronze medalist Trinity Western Spartans return home for their Canada West season opener against the University of Regina Cougars. The Fri., Nov. 18th match is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, while the Sat., Nov. 19th match is scheduled for a 5 p.m. start.

Trinity Western Spartans (2-2)
Last Weekend: Brandon 3-1 L, 3-0 L
2011 CIS Rank: N/A
2010-2011 CW Record: 15-3, 2nd
2010-2011 CW Tournament: 3-1, 2nd
2010-2011 CIS Tournament: 2-1, 3rd

The Spartans have had marginal success so far in this young season, but certainly less than had been expected from the CIS bronze medalists. The Spartans started the season as a CIS ranked contender, but in recent weeks fell out of the CIS rankings. This week the Spartans have the chance to get back into the fray with a pair of games, looking to improve upon last week’s two losses.

Last week the Spartans were upset by the Brandon Bobcats in two games in Brandon. In the first game the Spartans were unable to find an edge in the match, and went without winning a set. In the first set, the Bobcats played well to steal a 25-22 set win.

The next set went overtime as the Spartans pushed back, but still came up short in a 31-29 set. In the final set the Spartans never gained their footing and fell 25-16 to give the Bobcats their first win of the season. Alicia Perrin led the team with 13 kills despite the loss.

In the next game, the Spartans came out swinging and made an impact by winning the first set 26-24. However this was the last time that the Spartans were able to finish on top, as the Bobcats swept the next three sets with scores of 25-23, 25-23, and 25-21. Once again Alicia Perrin led the team, adding 16 kills to her total.

Regina Cougars (2-4)
Last Weekend: Thompson Rivers 3-2 L, 3-2 L
2011 CIS Rank: N/A
2010-2011 CW Record: 8-10, 7th
2010-2011 CW Tournament: 0-2
2010-2011 CIS Tournament: N/A

The Cougars are coming to Langley with a chance for redemption following last years pair of losses in the Canada West playoffs to the Spartans. In those games the Cougars were unable to win a match and wound up being swept in a pair of games to end their hopes of a Canada West title.

Last weekend in Regina, the Cougars played a pair of tight games against the WolfPack. In the first game between these two teams the Cougars got off to a hot start by burning WolfPack 25-15. But the WolfPack were not to be defeated so easily and tied the game up by winning the next set 25-19.
 
The Cougars responded with another 25-15, but this was to be their last set win as the WolfPack managed to win the fourth and fifth sets with scores of 25-17 and 15-10. In the end the Cougars added a 3-2 loss to their record.

In game two of the series the Cougars started strong by winning two sets 25-19 and 25-17, but were bested by a desperate WolfPack rally. The last three sets were all Thompson Rivers as they won the sets with scores of 25-20, 25-21, and 15-10. Meagan Onstad was incredible in the losing effort, posting 24 kills.

Overall Onstad has been a well-rounded star for the Cougars, with a team high 83 kills and a solid 57 digs so far in the young season. Rebecca Rink leads the team in digs with 69, for an average 3 digs/set.

Both this weekend’s matches will be played at the Langley Events Centre and will have live streaming and stats available on Canadawest.tv.

-TW-

Last Updated: 2011-11-17
Author: Mark Janzen
Email: Mark.Janzen@twu.ca