Defending champion T-Birds host MRU to kickstart new season

VANCOUVER – Back at War Memorial Gym to play a meaningful game for the first time since hoisting the U SPORTS National Championship trophy on March 19, the UBC Thunderbirds host the Mount Royal Cougars Friday and Saturday, October 20 and 21 to kick off the 2023-24 Canada West season.

Ranked third in the conference’s pre-season coaches’ poll, the T-Birds will unveil their 2023 championship banner prior to officially beginning their campaign for a record 14^th national title.

“It’s a chance to share with alumni and fans who were actually a huge part of our national championship success at home,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer who enters his 27^th season with the T-Birds. “It’s easy to get dialled into the issues and the concerns and what you’re dealing with on a day-to-day basis, but winning a national championship is pretty special so you want to take the chance to celebrate your success and this is a great opportunity to do that.”

While officially marking the turning of the page to a new season, Friday night’s game will see a T-Birds starting lineup that looks a whole lot different compared to March’s historic national championship run. Several standout starters have graduated on from the program including setter Kayla Oxland and outside hitters Cara Kovacs and Courtenay Hillier, to name a few.

While those notables are no longer on the court, the T-Birds still have a wealth of experience on a deep roster that’s been battletested over the course of the last couple months of preseason action.

“I’ve been really happy with our training and preparation,” added Reimer. “I think while we haven’t had a huge volume of pre-season play, we’ve shown development and we know the areas we need to improve on while also knowing we have a lot of strengths as individuals and as a group moving forward.”

As for the Cougars, the last meaningful game they played at War Memorial was also last March 19 when they defeated the Université de Montréal Carabins to take fifth place at the National Championship. Mount Royal has also seen some significant roster turnover from last year, but there’s no question they’ll provide some stiff opening weekend competition.

“Over the years I’ve learned regardless, opening weekends will bring it’s share of ups and downs for the vast majority of teams. (MRU) also lost key people but we saw them in pre-season and as a group a lot of the things they do, there’s a reason they’ve been successful the last few years. I see that in their systems of play. In a lot of ways they mirror us, other people are getting their chance to shine and step into the spotlight more.”

First serve for the 2023-24 Canada West season is set for 6:00 p.m. PT Friday at War Memorial Gym. The ‘Birds and Cougars will battle again Saturday at 5:00 p.m. Tickets for both games are available online now and both will be streamed live on Canada West TV.