By: Alyssa Etsell, University of Manitoba Bisons Sports Information

WINNIPEG - No. 1 Trinity Western Spartans continued their winning streak with a hard-fought four set (27-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-20) win over No. 9 University of Manitoba Bisons in men's volleyball on Jan. 13, 2018 at Investors Group Athletic Centre.

The Herd held their own in concentrated back and forth rallies after pushing the game into a fourth set. Ultimately, they couldn't keep the Spartans at bay. 

"I'm really proud of them, actually. I really feel we played well, battled hard, and battled right to the last point," said Bisons head couch Garth Pischke. "We did a lot of good things and made the odd mistake, but not very many."

With the road win, Trinity Western continues their winning streak with 11 conference match wins in a row and improves their record to 15-1. Manitoba moves their record down to 6-10.

Bisons Scott Vercaigne had 18 kills over the four sets and Eric Loeppky got 21 kills for the Spartans.

Trinity Western wasted no time stacking up points at the start of the fourth set, but the home team didn't sleep on it and fought back to make the game return to a point-for-point battle. 

Much like other sets, near the end of the fourth the Spartans pulled ahead, forcing the home team to concentrate on a come-from-behind defeat. A spike straight down on the left side by Pearson Eshenko put TWU within two points of set (23-19). Jacob Kern attempted a kill which was blocked by Dylan Sutherland and Brendan Warren but ultimately went out of bounds pushing TWU to one point to set. An out-of-bound play by the Herd gave the Spartans set point at 25-20.

In the third, neither team was able to pull ahead by more than two points early on.

Sharp and deliberate plays led the Spartans to gain a lead halfway through the set, but the Bisons kept fighting to try and push the game to a fourth set. As the score crept closer to set point, the Herd made it 20-23, distancing themselves from the Spartans. With a back pocket kill, Kern attempted to bring the score back up but a serve error brought the Herd within one of set point (24-22). An out-of-bounds play by the Spartans led the Bisons to set point.

Earlier in the game, intense rallies fueled by both teams putting up solid walls characterized the early second set. 

At the midway point, the visiting team pulled ahead (21-18) thanks to a series of strategic dumps and kills that the home team wasn't able to shut down. Continuing until set point, a back-pocket spike by Eshenko put the Spartans within set point and a kill by Loeppky right down centre court cemented the set win (25-20) for the visitors.

Halfway through the first set saw the Herd move past point-for-point play briefly. TWU gained the points they needed to catch up again, though, tying the set at 18-18. Intentional spiking and blocking allowed the Spartans to pull into the lead.

A serve error by TWU tied the set at 24-24 and Eshenko served at 25-25. A block by Sutherland and Warren went out of bounds, making the score 26-25. Though the Bisons attacked the ball, a dig was sent out of bounds and in turn gave the Spartans set point to win 27-25.

In upcoming action, Manitoba will face Winnipeg on Jan. 18, 2018 at 7:45 p.m. CST. Trinity Western will play next at home against Regina on Jan. 19, 2018 at 8 p.m. PST. Watch the matches live online at CanadaWest.tv.

Game leaders:
Kills:
Manitoba – Scott Vercaigne, 18
Spartans – Eric Loeppky, 21

Digs:
Manitoba – Kevin Negus, 10
Spartans – Carter Bergen & Adam Schriemer, 7

Blocks:
Manitoba – Dustin Spiring, 8
Spartans – Riley Vander Meulen, 7