Defending champion Spartans will meet Varsity Blues in final
Canadian Interuniversity Sport – BRANDON, Man. (CIS) – The top two seeds in the CIS Women’s Volleyball Championship will meet in the final on Sunday.
The top-seeded Trinity Western Spartans will have a chance to defend their championship after beating the UBC Thunderbirds 23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-19 in a semifinal match on Saturday.
Trinity Western’s opponent will be the second-seeded Toronto Varsity Blues, who earlier topped the UBC Okanagan Heat in four sets.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEBSITE: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wvball/index
Not only are the Spartans trying to earn their second straight national title, they’re trying to follow another outstanding Trinity Western performance. On Saturday, the TWU men’s volleyball team won the CIS title in Hamilton, Ont.
“We’re inspired. We’re a close school, we have a lot of respect and we hang out with those guys a lot,” said Ryan Hofer, the head coach of the Spartans women’s volleyball team. “For them to win that trophy was a great honour and we’re going to work hard and if it comes our way we’re going to take it.”
Sophie Carpentier had 16 kills and three aces, while Elizabeth Wendel added 14 kills for the Spartans, who came back strong after losing the first set of the match.
Danielle Brisebois had 23 kills for the fifth-seeded Thunderbirds, who stayed close through the second and third sets but fell behind 9-2 early in the fourth set.
Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer gave his team credit for battling, but said losing the close second set was a key in the match.
“I think I looked at the stats after the second set and they hit over .400 and we were a lot below that and we still only lost by two points,” Reimer said. “So I think we needed to find a way to slow them down a little bit offensively in the second set.”
The Thunderbirds will play the UBC Okanagan Heat for the bronze medal on Sunday.
STAT LEADERS
Complete Stats: http://english.cis-sic.ca/championships/wvball/2016/championship
Trinity Western
Kills: Sophie Carpentier (16), Elizabeth Wendel (14)
Points: Sophie Carpentier (22), Elizabeth Wendel (19)
Blocks: Katelyn Devaney (2,9)
Digs: Nikki Cornwall, Brie O’Reilly (14)
Service aces: Sophie Carpentier (3)
Player of the match: Nikki Cornwall
UBC
Kills: Danielle Brisebois (23), Alissa Coulter (11)
Points: Danielle Brisebois (24.5), Alissa Coulter (14.5)
Blocks: Ciara Hanly (0,3)
Digs: Alissa Coulter, Juliana Kaufmanis (10)
Service aces: Alissa Coulter, Nicola Laniuk (2)
Player of the match: Danielle Brisebois
CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE & RESULTS (CENTRAL TIME)
Friday, March 11
12:30 Quarter-final #1: Toronto 3, McGill 2 (18-25, 25-17, 25-27, 25-23, 15-13)
14:30 Quarter-final #2: UBC Okanagan 3, Dalhousie 0 (25-17, 25-10, 25-15)
18:00 Quarter-final #3: Trinity Western 3, Brandon 1 (25-23, 25-15, 23-25, 25-19)
20:00 Quarter-final #4: UBC 3, Montreal 1 (20-25, 25-20, 28-26, 25-20)
Saturday, March 12
12:30 Consolation #1: Dalhousie 3, McGill 1 (25-21, 17-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-12)
14:30 Consolation #2: Montreal 3, Brandon 0 (25-15, 28-26, 25-20)
18:00 Semifinal #1: Toronto 3, UBC Okanagan 1 (21-25, 26-24, 25-22, 25-21)
20:00 Semifinal #2: Trinity Western 3, UBC 1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-21, 25-19)
Sunday, March 13
13:00 5th place: Dalhousie vs. Montreal (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
15:00 Bronze medal: UBC Okanagan vs. UBC (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
18:00 Championship final: Toronto vs. Trinity Western (WCGtv / www.CIS-SIC.tv)
About Canadian Interuniversity Sport
Canadian Interuniversity Sport is the national governing body of university sport in Canada. Every year, over 12,000 student-athletes and 700 coaches from 56 universities and four regional associations vie for 21 national championships in 12 different sports. CIS also provides high performance international opportunities for Canadian student-athletes at Winter and Summer Universiades, as well as numerous world university championships. For further information, visit www.cis-sic.ca or follow us on:
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For further information, please contact:
Matt Packwood
Brandon University
T: 204-727-7375
C: 204-570-0842
Michel Bélanger
Communications & Media Relations
Canadian Interuniversity Sport
T: 613-562-5670 ext. 25
C: 613-447-6334