The Brandon University women’s volleyball team swept the Trinity Western Spartans on senior’s night at the Healthy Living Centre to secure a home playoff date in the opening round of the playoffs.
Captain Kellie Baker had a match-high 29 assists while fellow fifth-year Alexis Loewen added eight blocks for the Lady ‘Cats.
Set scores were 25-13, 25-11 and 25-21.
"Honestly, I don’t know if it’s sunk in yet really," Baker told CKLQ’s Tyler Crayston. "There’s nothing more we could have asked for. I don’t know, I’m speechless, I don’t know exactly what to say. It’s crazy to think we have a hosting spot all of a sudden and we still have two games of season left next weekend."
Vaovai Aiono had 11 kills, three aces and four blocks for Brandon, who upped their record to 15-5 and turned the tables on Trinity Western after being handed a straight sets loss on Friday.
"We came out to prove a point," said coach Lee Carter. "We wanted to make sure that we sent a message today and hopefully it’s a lesson that we needed to learn. You never make it all the way through without facing adversity and we faced it a couple of times this semester and we’ve always risen the next time and played really well."
Meanwhile, the BU men’s volleyball team dropped a dramatic five-set decision against Trinity Western.
Set scores were 18-25, 25-19, 25-21, 19-25 and 15-13.
Sebastien Steigmeier scored a match-high 25 kills and 15 digs for the ninth-ranked Bobcats, who split their series against the top-ranked team in the nation.
"I don’t think we fell apart that bad. I think they stepped up. They’re the #1 team in the country, there’s a reason for that. They showed a bit of it tonight," said Steigmeier. "If they step up, we have to step up. I don’t think we crumbled or nothing, I just think we didn’t react to them pushing a little more at the end."
Sam Tuivai added 17 kills for BU, who saw their record slip to 9-11 on the season and sit tied for final playoff spot.
Fifth-year and co-captain Dan Boutwell added 12 kills in his final match in Brandon.
"I don’t want to say I’m disappointed, even though I’m a little tonight," added Steigmeier. "It’s good to win one, but it’s too bad, we were so close to getting a second win and we just couldn’t finish it. It’s a good weekend for us because we get a win and because we showed the rest of the league that they don’t have to count without us for the playoffs because we’re going to go."
The BU volleyball teams are on the road next weekend to close out the Canada West regular season against the Calgary Dinos.