Trinity Western University Spartans extend run to national men’s v-ball final to seven years

Trinity Western University Spartans extend run to national men’s v-ball final to seven years

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TWU wins their fourth title in seven years by defeating the Sherbooke Vert & Or 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-15) at McMaster University’s Burridge Gym in Hamilton.

Published Mar 20, 2023  •  Last updated 6 hours ago  •  2 minute read

Trinity Western University Spartans extend run to national men’s v-ball final to seven years
Henry Rempel of Trinity Western University celebrates the Spartans capturing their fourth U Sports men’s national volleyball title in seven years by defeating Sherbrooke 3-0 in Sunday’s final at McMaster in Hamilton. Photo by Mark Janzen / TWU Spartans /jpg

The Trinity Western University Spartans men’s volleyball team isn’t guaranteed a spot in the U Sports national championship game every year — it just may seem that way.

The Spartans made the Canadian finale for a seventh straight season on Sunday and claimed their fourth title over that span by defeating the Sherbrooke Vert & Or 3-0 (25-16, 25-20, 25-15) at McMaster University’s Burridge Gym in Hamilton.

TWU has captured seven titles all-time, with their first coming in 2006 at McMaster. The Spartans have been in 10 of the past 12 finals, winning six times.

They didn’t have a single fifth-year senior on their 16-man roster this season.

TWU came into this tournament as the No. 3 seeds, having lost to the Alberta Golden Bears in the Canada West final on March 10 in Edmonton. The No. 4 seed Vert & Or beat No. 1 Alberta 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 25-21) in Saturday’s semifinals in Hamilton, while TWU downed the No. 2-seeded McMaster host side 3-1 (25-27, 25-20, 25-21, 25-21) to move to the championship.

Third-year TWU setter Mathias Elser, who was later named tournament MVP, led the way against Sherbrooke with 26 assists, two kills and one solo block. The Spartans’ hitting percentage was .354, compared with .177 for Sherbrooke. 

The Spartans finished the season 29-9, led by interim co-head coaches Adam Schriemer and Ben Ball. Schriemer, who was named U Sports player of the year while playing for TWU in 2017-18, and Ball, who took that same title while with TWU in 2011-12, had both been assistant coaches with the Spartans under Ben Josephson. They moved up together to the top job when Josephson initially took a leave to coach the Canadian team in November 2021.

Josephson resigned from TWU in February.

The Spartans were the top seeds for last year’s national tournament in Winnipeg. They beat No. 5 Sherbrooke in the semifinals and then fell to No. 3 Alberta in the championship.

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reference: theprovince.com

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