T-Birds down Wolfpack in straight sets to remain undefeated

The UBC Thunderbirds earned a straight sets, 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-21), victory over the visiting Thompson Rivers University WolfPack at War Memorial Gym to improve to 7-0 on the Canada West season on Friday night.
 
Fourth-year outside hitter Katarina Pantovic had a team-high 13 kills for the T-Birds with a .500 hitting percentage, Lucy Borowski put up six kills, seven digs, and two service aces while Issy Robertshaw and Akash Grewal added three aces each.
 
“We had pretty good distribution in our offence across the board, and we were effective in all zones,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “We also had too many service errors, and we need to clean that up. When we do serve well, it takes the other team out of their offensive system. We’ve just got to focus on being a good serving team and maintain that. Overall, I think some of our ball control and basic plays weren’t at the standard they needed to be at. I’m pretty sure Thompson Rivers would say the same, so I would expect it to be a generally higher level of play tomorrow.”

 
Ema Palkovicova led TRU with seven kills, two aces, and five digs, while Kate Lamothe had four kills and four digs in the hard-fought loss that saw their record fall to 2-5.
 
The teams traded points early in the first set before a Pantovic kill, a TRU attacking error, and a huge block by Emma Doyon forced the WolfPack into a timeout at 8-3 UBC. TRU lessened the gap to two after Palkovicova smashed a kill to make it 13-11 UBC, but the ‘Birds pulled ahead again powered by a scrappy Borowski shoulder dig and a service ace. Claire Cossarini put up a block to earn UBC the set point at 24-19. A pair of kills by Palkovicova and Lamothe brought the WoldPack back into contention before UBC took the set off a Doyon kill at 25-23.
 

WVB | @ubcwvb’s Kylee Glanville serves, followed by an attack by Trinity Solecki!

The T-Birds win the first set and are currently leading 22-18 in the second set. #GoBirdsGo

: https://t.co/TdjaH9qtA1 pic.twitter.com/GqqGqf9qxM

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) November 18, 2023

The second set saw a thrilling rally end in favour of the WolfPack, giving the team momentum to build a 11-7 lead. A Borowski hit down the line and Robertshaw service ace brought UBC back within a point of TRU before Grewal levelled the score at 12-all with an ace. Back-to-back kills by Trinity Solecki gave UBC the 22-18 advantage and Cossarini took the set home at 25-20 with a kill from the middle.

 
The ‘Birds jumped out to an early lead in the third at 13-6 and reached the 20 point mark first, but the visitors responded by narrowing their deficit to just three points. Despite well-earned points by Lamothe, Palkovicova, and Keira Gent, the effort was not enough to catch the hosts. UBC took the set 25-21 off a Thompson Rivers service error to take the match in three straight sets.
 

WVB | @ubcwvb1 downs Thompson Rivers WolfPack in straight sets 3-0 to remain undefeated on the @CanadaWest season.

Third-year outside hitter, Lucy Borowski had a standout night & spoke post-game on what’s allowed the ‘Birds to improve the winning streak to 7-0.

 : pic.twitter.com/xdVOQ4hDHw

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) November 18, 2023

“Thompson Rivers has got a lot of offensive talent,” added Reimer. “I think they’re going to play more consistently and are going to bring a better offensive performance tomorrow, so that means we have to be better in every phase of the game.”

 
The T-Birds and WolfPack return to War Memorial Gym for a rematch on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.