LANGLEY, British Columbia – Trailing 24-19 in the third set, the No. 3 Spartans women's volleyball team staved off five set points before winning 27-25 to cap a 3-0 (25-16, 25-17, 27-25) victory over Brandon Friday at the Langley Events Centre.
 
With an impressive defensive display in the late stages of the third set from both libero Rachel Flink and setter Nikki Cornwall the Spartans (16-3) roared back to end the match in the minimum.
 
After Elly Wendel put TWU on match point, a kill from Ashtyn McKenzie finished the match in favour of the home side. 
 
As a team, the Spartans finished with 68 digs, which marked the TWU's third highest total for a three-set match in program history. Wendel and Cornwall had 15 digs each, while Flink had 13 and Brie O'Reilly had 11. Brandon (7-12) had 45 digs.
 
On a night when the Spartans hit only .120, Wendel led the way with 15 kills, while Sophie Carpentier had eight kills.
 
Brandon's Nikala Majewski had a team-high six kills, while Danielle Larocque had a match-leading five blocks.
 
The Bobcats finished with 9.5 blocks while TWU had seven.
 
The victory put the Spartans back in the win column after dropping back-to-back matches against No. 1-ranked Alberta last weekend.
 
The Spartans held Brandon to just four kills in the opening set, while earning 11 themselves en route to a nine-point win. With the score tied 11-11, Cornwall served TWU to a 7-0 run that put the home side in the lead for good. Carpentier and Wendel each had four kills in the set while Majewski had three for Brandon.
 
TWU didn't skip a beat in the second set, taking a 6-1 lead and holding off the Bobcats the rest of the way. Wendel collected another six kills and the Spartans held Brandon to five kills as a team. After TWU hit just .073 in the first set, the offence found its rhythm in the second set, hitting .257. The Bobcats hit .091 in the second set after hitting -.105 in the opener.
 
After Brandon took a 7-4 lead in the third set, Bobcats first-year Carmen Ross went down with an injury in which she needed to be carried off the court. But with Ross sidelined, Brandon responded with a 7-2 run to push its lead to 14-6. The visitors carried a lead throughout the set and, with a 24-19 edge, looked primed to force a fourth set. But then, a Bobcats service error started TWU's rally and with three kills from Wendel leading the way, the Spartans came all the way back to take the set and the match.
 
The teams meet in the rematch Saturday at 5 p.m. (PT) at the LEC.