LANGLEY, B.C. – Mathias Elser made nine aces as Trinity Western defeated Manitoba 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 25-17) in their home opener at the Langley Events Centre on Friday night.
 
Alongside Elser's night at the service line, the Spartans (1-0) were led by a combined 29 kills from the outside-hitting trio of Jesse Elser, Henry Rempel  and Brodie Hofer.

The Bisons (0-1) had a well-spread attacking night with Ben Carleton and Jonah Dueck leading the way with eight kills each. Dueck had 13 points overall, impressing in his U SPORTS regular season debut in the middle, with a hitting percentage of .636. He and freshman Jordon Heppner were a force at the position, combining for 13 kills and two solo blocks. 

Manitoba had the better hitting percentage of the two teams, at .274 compared to .258, however 17 service aces (compared to two for the Bisons) kept Manitoba on their toes consistently. 

With the visitors applying pressure at the beginning of the match, a combined serving run between Hofer and Elser led to a 23-12 lead. The U of M clawed back, bringing their tally to 18 points before the Spartans closed the set at 25-18.
 
The Bisons were able to extend their pressure into the second set, taking a 25-22 set victory to tie the game up at 1-1, but TWU rolled in the next two sets, taking a 25-19 victory, then a 25-17 victory to wrap up the match