THIS WEEK IN SPARTA

LANGLEY, British Columbia – This Week in Sparta sees the No. 8 Trinity Western men’s volleyball team playing in their 12 straight Canada West championship match this Friday in Edmonton, Alta. at 7 p.m. MT against the No. 2 Alberta Golden Bears. The single-game championship will take place in Alberta’s Main Gym and be broadcast on CBCSports.ca.
 
AWAY
 
MEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Friday, March 8 at Alberta Golden Bears, Edmonton, Alta.
7 p.m. (MT) – Van Vliet Complex Main Gym | WATCH
 
NOTABLE

• No. 8 TWU finished Canada West conference play in third place at 15-9 in Canada West, while No. 2 Alberta finished in first place at 16-6. Both TWU and Alberta are 4-1 in the postseason.
• This championship is TWU’s 12 straight Canada West championship appearance, and fourth straight against Alberta.
• This is the 10^th time that the Spartans and Alberta have met for the right to hoist the Costa Chrysanthou Trophy and earn the Canada West championship banner.
• TWU and Alberta have faced each other 13 times in the Canada West postseason, including two semifinals, and two bronze medal matches.
• The Spartans are 7-6 all-time against the Bears in Canada West postseason play, with Alberta’s six wins coming in the championship final.
• Last year the Golden Bears defeated the Spartans 3-1 to win their 14^th conference title. TWU, who has seven conference banners, would go on to win last year’s U SPORTS championship.
• Last week the Spartans defeated the Winnipeg Wesmen in the best-of-three series 2-1, winning 3-0 on Thursday, losing 3-0 on Friday, and winning 3-0 on Saturday at the Langley Events Centre in Langley, B.C.
• In their semi-final series Alberta swept the UBC Thunderbirds 3-0, and 3-0 at home in Edmonton, Alta.
• In their last conference weekend series, November 10-11 in Edmonton, the Golden Bears and Spartans split with each other with each winning 3-1.
• The Spartans and Golden Bears have combined to win 13 of the last 17 U SPORTS titles. They’ve even faced off five times in the U SPORTS final, most recently in 2022 when Alberta bested the Spartans in a rematch of that year’s Canada West championship. The Golden Bears are nine-time national champions, while Trinity Western won its seventh U SPORTS gold medal last year.
• The Spartans are 35-65 lifetime against the Golden Bears. TWU’s 100 matches with Alberta are the most against any U SPORTS team.
• The Spartans are led by Canada West all-stars fourth-year outside Henry Rempel (Swift Current, Sask.) and second-year setter Anselm Rein (Erfurt, Germany). Rempel finished the season leading Canada West in kills-per-set (4.23), second in total kills (398), and fifth in aces-per-set (0.41). Rein was the top setter in the conference, leading Canada West in assists-per-set (10.29), and was also the leader in service aces-per-set (0.59).
• The Golden Bears are led by Third-year outside hitter Isaac Heslinga who ranked first in Canada West this season with a .310 hitting percentage and lead the conference during the playoffs with 101 kills and 5.32 kills per set. He was named a Canada West First Team All-Star.
• TWU’s Anselm Rein is the current Canada West Men’s Volleyball Athlete of the Week.

 
About Spartan Athletics
As official members of U SPORTS, the Spartans currently compete in 13 sports in the Canada West conference, including women’s and men’s soccer, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cross country, and track & field, as well as women’s rugby sevens. TWU also competes as an independent team in men’s rugby, as well as women’s and men’s disc golf. Since TWU entered U SPORTS in 1999, the Spartans have won 13 U SPORTS team championships and 32 Canada West team championships.
 
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