"Excruciatingly painful and unacceptable."
That is the description given by Trinity Western Spartans men's volleyball coach Ben Josephson to his team's performance on Saturday night.
The Spartans were up two sets to zero but allowed the visiting Brandon Bobcats to take the next three for the 3-2 victory at the 91原创 Events Centre. It was Trinity Western's first loss on their home floor in 26 games, a streak dating back nearly two years to Jan. 22, 2011.
"That's an excruciatingly painful loss," Josephson said.
"To give up a 2-0 lead in your own building is unacceptable.
"If we want to be a championship team, that is unacceptable.
"We've proven we're not ready for a championship run; now we have to train to become that kind of team."
The loss dropped the Spartans from second in the country to third.
The Spartans won the first two sets 25-16 and 25-24 before Brandon rallied to win 29-27, 25-20 and 15-13.
The loss dropped the Spartans to 11-3 while the Bobcats improved to 10-4.
Steven Marshall led the home team with 18 kills and 10 digs while Brad Kufske had 13 kills and 10 digs.
Derek Thiessen (11 kills), Lucas Van Berkel (11 blocks, nine kills) and John Wiebe (15 digs) also had solid games.
The two teams also played at the LEC two nights earlier, with the .
Trinity Western will look to return to the win column as they host the Manitoba Bisons on Jan. 18 and 19 at the LEC.
