‘Birds down WolfPack to earn a series sweep

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds earned a 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-19) victory over the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack at War Memorial Gym to sweep their first series of the new year and improve to 5-3 on the regular season.

“Our word for the weekend was adaptable,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer, as the T-Birds welcomed contributions from 13 different players in the win. “I thought we were steady in all areas, and it’s good to give people opportunities to play. We just haven’t had enough matches in our season to date, so every point is a valuable experience for us to try things. We have a lot of young players, and since no one played last season, this gives us a lot to carry forward for the next two weeks.”

Brynn Pasin totalled a team-high seven kills for UBC and added seven digs, Trinity Solecki had six kills with three aces and three digs, and Courtney Hillier added four kills with two blocks and an ace.

Brooklyn Olfert had another solid offensive performance for the WolfPack with 11 kills and led TRU with seven digs, while Erin Mutch tallied five kills with three digs and a block.

The ‘Birds started strong in the first set as a Robertsen ace made it 3-0 and a Pasin kill extended the lead to 9-3. Faith Christensen brought the WolfPack within five on a kill then dropped an ace at 10-6 UBC. TRU went on a run ahead of the technical timeout with Olfert making it a two-point set on a kill at 15-13 and Christensen tying it up with a kill from the middle at 16-16. The T-Birds recaptured a four-point cushion with a Jayde Robertsen ace at 23-19 and the home team reached set point on a WolfPack error. Solecki closed out the set for the Thunderbirds with a left side kill at 25-21.

TRU earned a 5-2 lead early in the second set, but the ‘Birds took an 8-7 lead on a Pasin kill. Solecki served up two straight aces and Pasin made it 13-7 on a tip. T-Bird rookie Akash Grewal cranked her first kill of the match at 19-12 UBC and the ‘Birds took the second set, 25-16, on a WolfPack service error.

The visitors went up 4-0 in the third but were unable to maintain their momentum and UBC tied it at 6-6 and took the lead on a Pasin kill. The T-Birds continued to an 18-10 advantage before TRU put together a 3-0 run and forced a UBC timeout at 19-16 ‘Birds. The Thunderbirds regrouped and won the set with a big block at 25-19.  

?? WVB | UBC takes the first set 25-21 & leads @GoTRUWolfPack 1-0 here at War Memorial Gym! #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/RHUorAjQys

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) January 15, 2022

“Trinity Western has a much different style of play,” said Reimer, as the ‘Birds now head into a bye week before starting preparations for a series with the Spartans on January 28^th and 29^th. “There is no shortage of things for us to work on, but it was nice to come out with two wins this weekend.”

TRU (0-6) is back in action next weekend to host the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades on Friday and Saturday in Kamloops.