A weekend as a Spartan warrior

Posted by admin on Feb 17, 2009 in Sports | 3 comments

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Sunday morning I awoke to a stiff neck, bruised hands and no voice. As I wiped the remnants of face paint from my cheeks in front of the mirror, only two words entered my mind: worth it.

It was a historic weekend at the Enarson Gymnasium, even after we thought we would not play there again. For the first time ever, the Spartans were hosting three Canada West playoff matches. When the dust settled, 20 hours of Spartan playoff action had taken place, and I was there for all of it. From the screams for justice at the referees, to the entrance of the Faithful 300 (or 200, but who’s counting?), the weekend was nothing short of epic.

Thursday:
The day began at 3:30 as the women’s volleyball squad took the floor and handed the University of Winnipeg Bisons a beautiful “welcome to Trinity Western University” with a three-set sweep. I guess it is possible to have jet-lag on a flight from Winnipeg.

At around 5:30, the men’s volleyball team took to the court against a tough opponent in the Thompson River University Wolf Pack. The sets went back and forth ending with a slight edge to TRU in five.

Finally, the last fans pushed their way into the gym to watch the basketball game. It all came down to a pass from Jacob Doerksen to Louis Hurd and a three-point shot that sent the Spartan Faithful to their feet with such an eruption that students back at the University of Victoria could hear it. The final score was 64-63 for TWU.

Friday:
My voice was gone, but 3:30 was game time at the Enarson Gymnasium. The women capped off their series with a tougher game, but still a Spartan victory that ended the Bison season.
The men now faced a must-win game against TRU, and they did not disappoint. Four sets were all they needed to send the series to Saturday.
The Spartan Faithful proved that we are the best fans in the country as 200 students with capes and shields (courtesy of TWUSA) circled the gym to bring out the starting Spartan line-up. Even with a capacity crowd that would scare any team, the referees dictated the flow of the game and the UVic Vikes pulled out a win to secure the third game.

Saturday:
With the women having finished their series, the night began at 5:30 with the Spartans season on the line. The volleyball team put forward a valiant effort, but they came up just short as TRU won in five sets.

The Faithful were given 20 minutes to mourn, but then it was back to work. The Spartans started with a bang and never looked back, even when the refereeing (once again) became inconsistent. UVic tried to claw back from being down 22 points at the half, but time would run out and the Spartans were victorious. With a final “Oy! Oy! Oy!” the Spartan Faithful waved goodbye to the Vikes and looked ahead to the No. 2 ranked UBC T-birds.