Posted: Feb 22, 2014
SATURDAY MEDAL ROUND
Gold: Alberta 3 Trinity Western 0
(both have qualified for CIS Nationals)
Golden Bears-Spartans Stats
by Mark Janzen, TWU Sports Information
LANGLEY, BC – With a three-set win (25-20, 26-24, 26-24) over Trinity Western, the Alberta Golden Bears captured the 2014 Canada West gold medal on Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
With the score tied 24-24 in the third set, Alberta fifth-year left side Jay Olmstead came up with back-to-back kills to give the Bears their first conference title since 2010. Alberta has now won 13 Canada West championships all-time and 30 conference medals.
The Bears also knocked off the Spartans on home court for the first time since a regular season contest on Jan. 9, 2010. Over that span, TWU had won five straight against Alberta at home. The loss also sees TWU's 16-match home-winning streak come to an end.
Trinity Western was looking for its second Canada West championship in three years and second on home court, but has to settle for its fifth silver medal and second in as many years. Last season, TWU lost to Brandon in three sets in the championship match.
Both teams will now prepare to represent Canada West at the CIS national championship in Calgary Feb. 27 to Mar. 1.
Alberta was led by Ryley Barnes, who had 12 kills, two aces and three blocks, John Goranson, who had 11 kills and two blocks, and Olmstead, who had 11 kills and an ace. Setter Brett Walsh had 36 assists and a team-high 12 digs. Matt McCreary had a match-high five blocks.
For TWU, Brad Kufske led the way with nine kills while Nick Del Bianco had seven kills.
Bronze: Thompson Rivers 3 Brandon 1
WolfPack-Bobcats Stats
by Mark Janzen, TWU Sports Information
LANGLEY, BC – The Thompson Rivers WolfPack captured the Canada West bronze medal with a 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 26-24, 25-23) win over Brandon on Saturday at the Langley Events Centre.
With the win, the WolfPack earned their third Canada West bronze medal in program history, having previously won in 2007-08 and 2008-09.
The WolfPack was led by Brad Gunter, who had a match-high 25 kills as well as 14 digs. Casey Knight added 12 kills and three blocks while Jacob Tricarico had seven kills and a team-high four blocks. Setter Graham Stoliker, who replaced fifth-year Colin Carson midway through the first set, finished with a match-high 39 assists.
Brandon was led by a four-pronged attack that saw Frank Jones (12 kills), Sebastien Steigmeier (11), Dan Boutwell (10) and Sam Tuivai (10) all hit double digits in kills. Boutwell also had a match-high six blocks. Setter David Stasica finished with 37 assists.
GoSpartans.ca
FRIDAY SEMIFINALS
Alberta 3 Thompson Rivers 0
WolfPack-Golden Bears Stats
by Mark Janzen, TWU Sports Information
LANGLEY, BC – The Alberta Godlen Bears advanced to the Canada West gold medal match with a 3-0 (25-17, 26-24, 25-17) win in the conference semifinals on Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
The win also earns Alberta one of two Canada West berths into the CIS national championship in Calgary, Feb. 27-Mar. 1.
Alberta will now play in the Canada West gold medal match on Saturday, 7 p.m. at the LEC. The WolfPack will play for bronze Saturday at 5 p.m.
The Bears were led by Ryley Barnes, who had 11 kills while Jay Olmstead and Kevin Proudfoot had eight kills each. Setter Brett Walsh had a match-high four blocks to go with 31 assists. Matt McCreary had a match-high four aces.
Thompson Rivers Brad Gunter, who was named Canada West MVP earlier in the day, led the WolfPack with 16 kills, 14 digs and two aces. Jacob Tricarico added four kills and three blocks while Philip Ozari added five kills. Setter Colin Carson had 26 assists and five digs.
Trinity Western 3 Brandon 1
Bobcats-Spartans Stats
by Mark Janzen, TWU Sports Information
LANGLEY, BC – The Trinity Western Spartans will play for the Canada West gold medal for the third straight year as the Spartans beat Brandon 3-1 (25-17, 25-21, 22-25, 25-19) in the conference semifinals Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
With the win, the Spartans, as one of the top two teams in Canada West, also earn a berth in the CIS national championship tournament for the fourth consecutive season.
The Spartans will play Alberta, which beat Thompson Rivers in the other semifinal, for the conference championship Saturday at 7 p.m. at the LEC. Brandon will play TRU for the bronze medal at 5 p.m.
Led by Nick Del Bianco, who had 22 kills, the Spartans were impressive in three of the four sets and, hitting .346 or better in the first second and fourth sets. After Del Bianco's effort, it was Thiessen leading the Spartans with 13 kills.
The Bobcats' Sebastien Steigmeier had a team-high 20 kills and 15 digs while Sam Tuivai had 13 kills and two aces. Setter David Stasica had a team-high 34 assists.
GoSpartans.ca
About Canada West Universities Athletic Association
Canada West is consistently the most decorated of the four conferences in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, winning 100 CIS national titles over the last 10 seasons. Comprised of 17 schools from the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia, Canada West produces numerous major award winners and Academic All-Canadian student-athletes each year, with many going on to athletic success around the globe in pro leagues or events such as the Olympics, Paralympics or Universiade Games. canadawest.org / canadawest.tv / @cwuaa on Twitter
A proud member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS).