VANCOUVER – The U SPORTS No.7-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (13-5) are taking on their archrivals, the U SPORTS No.8-ranked Trinity Western Spartans (11-7), in a hotly anticipated home-and-home series this week. The teams will square off after the schools’ women’s teams play on both nights, scheduled for around 7:00 p.m. (PT) on Thursday at the Langley Events Centre and 7:45 p.m. (PT) on Friday at War Memorial Gym.
Friday’s game is taking place on Pride Night at War Memorial, a great opportunity to celebrate the inclusive environment at UBC and to celebrate LGBTQIA2S+ pride. The event is being presented in partnership with the Vancouver Gay Volleyball Association. Fans are encouraged to dress up colourfully for the Pride celebration!
Despite just a two match difference in their records, UBC currently sits second in the Canada West standings and Trinity Western is seventh, meaning the crosstown rivals are currently on track to meet in the first round of the playoffs. Those standings are far from set however, as there is less than a three game difference between first place Mount Royal (14-6) and eighth place Manitoba (11-7), which occupies the final playoff spot.
The T-Birds are coming off of their bye week after splitting a series with Manitoba the weekend before, UBC winning its ninth match in a row before finally falling against a playoff-caliber opponent.
“I think we were a little disappointed with the split, mostly about the way that we were playing,” reflected UBC head coach Mike Hawkins. “I felt like Saturday was a good reminder that you have to play really well to win games in our league, especially this year.”
The ‘Birds are currently leading the conference in digs, kills, assists and points per set. The team’s ability to finish off wins quickly and push tough opponents to five sets means the blue and gold currently hold the tiebreaker over both Alberta and Brandon, which both have the same 13-5 record as UBC.
“We’ve been really clear with our guys that even though we have three weeks left of our regular season, playoffs start this weekend,” said Hawkins. “We’ve got three good opponents in Trinity, Sask and Brandon to finish. Who knows where we’ll end up, but I think it’s good for us to start building that mentality and bring that level of preparation now.”
Last season the ‘Birds and Spartans split a similar home-and-home series with the host winning each time. The Spartans would go on to win the U SPORTS Championship. However, both teams’ rosters now look very different than the last time they squared off.
“Where last year’s teams were both very veteran-heavy and had a bunch of senior national team players, now both teams are very young with a bunch of junior national team players,” noted Hawkins. “Our athletes are very familiar with theirs from having played with and against them for many years growing up. So even though there aren’t years and years of built up rivalry between these guys while wearing the UBC and Trinity jerseys, they know each other very well.”
Tickets to Friday’s Pride Night games are expected to go quickly, with UBC students getting free admission as they have all season. Stream all of the action live or on demand on Canada West TV.