VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (8-0) came from behind to defeat the University of Alberta Pandas (5-3) 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-15, 25-21) at War Memorial Gym and remain undefeated in Canada West action.
“I thought we came out fairly well,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer after the ‘Birds dropped a tight opening set before storming back for the weekend sweep. “We knew Alberta would bounce back from their performance yesterday. Serving, passing, putting pressure on them, and keeping runs going were all big pieces tonight. They brought different stuff, some of which I think we handled well, but I think it’s important that we found ways to keep going. In the third and fourth sets it wasn’t like we really elevated our level of play – but each component of the game was a bit steadier, and the end result was positive throughout. I thought we got good play from a number of players and our passing stats were great. If you look at match point, they were really coming back, and we passed a really tough ball…got a great swing to end it and that’s what we need to continue to build throughout.”
Lucy Borowski notched 15 kills for the T-Birds with five digs and three blocks, Elise Petit put up 10 kills, and Kacey Jost had 21 digs and seven assists in the four-set victory.
Lauryn Tremblay led the Pandas with 14 kills, while Laila Johnson added seven kills with four aces, eight digs and two blocks in the road loss.
It was an even start to the match, as a Petit kill broke a 10-10 tie for the ‘Birds before the fifth-year hitter scored another kill for a narrow lead. Laila Johnson kept the Pandas within two on a block at 17-15 before Mackenzie Pool made it a one-point game and Alberta tied it on a UBC error. Tremblay tagged the sideline for a 21-18 lead that the visitors carried to a 25-21 set victory.
UBC took a 13-8 lead in the second set with a Petit kill and maintained an advantage until the Pandas tied it at 21-21. Borowski broke the tie on a kill and lifted the T-Birds to the second set win at 25-22 with one of her two aces of the evening.
In the third set, Brynn Pasin dropped an ace for a 17-11 T-Bird edge and Erika Vermette made it 23-14 with a kill, before Doyon closed out the set at 25-15.
Knotted up at 16-16 in the fourth, the T-Birds went up one with an Alberta error and Kovacs forced a Pandas timeout on a kill at 19-16. UBC’s 9-0 run proved to be too much for the Pandas to recover from and Akash Grewal crushed a kill for a 23-16 cushion. Alberta rallied for a late 5-0 run down match point, but the ‘Birds held on for a 25-21 victory with a Kovacs kill.
Next up for the Thunderbirds is a home-and-home showdown with the undefeated Trinity Western Spartans in a battle for top spot in the Canada West standings. Game one of the marquee series goes Friday, November 25th at 6:00 p.m. (PT) at War Memorial Gym, before the two teams square off at the Langley Events Centre on Saturday, November 26th at 6:00 p.m. (PT).