Spartan Holiday Classic Final Results

Trinity Western setter Ben Ball put on a clinic Wednesday Night in Langley. (Photo courtesy of TWU.ca)

The Spartan Holiday Classic came to a close in Langley last night. The Gold Medal Match was between two nationally ranked teams, the Calgary Dinos and host Trinity Western Spartans. The Bronze Medal Match had OUA representatives, the Queen’s Gaels, up against the UBC T-Birds.

Though the Calgary squad ranked ahead of Trinity Western both nationally and locally, and came into the game with an undefeated regular season record, the tournament played out differently. One set did go into extra points, but the Spartans won handily in three straight sets. CanadaWest.org details that the beating featured an almost-record setting performance from the aptly named Ben Ball:

Setter Ben Ball led the team with an impressive 43 assists, which is only four assists off the Spartans record for most assists in a three-set game, which is held by Josh Howatson who had 47 assists against Calgary Jan. 21, 2006.

Congratulations to the Trinity Western Spartans for their Gold Medal. The final scores were 25-22, 25-14, and 27-25.

The Bronze Medal Match featured a much more competitive, five set exchange. The Queen’s Gaels won the first set before dropping two straight. With their backs on the wall, the Gael’s fought back for the come-from-behind victory in the fifth set. It must come as a satisfying medal after being leapfrogged by McMaster in the OUA Standings right before January. To add merit to the accomplishment in the Gold Medal Match, the T-Birds setter had 43 assists over the entire five sets. Gael’s setter Jackson Dakin managed 27.

Congratulations to the Queen’s Gaels for their Bronze Medal. The final scores were 25-21, 22-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-11.