T-Birds close out first semester with weekend sweep over the Dinos

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds ended the first semester on a high note with a straight sets victory 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 26-24) over the Calgary Dinos to complete the weekend sweep at War Memorial Gym Saturday night.
 
UBC’s offense cruised throughout the night as they had a .435 hitting percentage as a team and averaged 16 kills per set.
 
“For us to be really efficient, really intelligent with the way we attacked, I think was a great way for us to finish this semester,” said Thunderbirds head coach Mike Hawkins. 
 
Conaire Taub led UBC in kills with 16, while Reeve Gingera added 15 kills and four digs while hitting .500. Mason Greves, the nation’s leader in assists, supplied 42 more for his ninth match with 40+ assists.

 
Zach Evans paced Calgary with nine kills and four digs while Louis Kunstmann added eight kills and three blocks.
 
UBC’s trio of outside hitters did damage early on as Taub and Gingera each had a pair of kills in the first few points to jump the T-Birds to a 4-2 lead in the first set. A Gavin Moes kill made it 15-11 and the Thunderbirds continued to press the advantage from there.
 
Back-to-back Moes kills made it 23-16, and UBC eventually closed it out 25-20. Taub notched eight kills in the opening set with a .700 hitting percentage.
 
Kieran Robinson-Dunning began the second set with an emphatic solo block to set the tone, one of five blocks the T-Birds would record in the frame. Play went back and forth throughout the middle portion of the set before two straight kills from Taub made it 18-14.
 

MVB | @ubcmvb‘s Reeve Gingera serves followed by an attack from Mason Greves, the T-Birds win 25-21 in the second set!#GoBirdsGo

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

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) December 3, 2023

A Gingera rocket down the sideline set up UBC set point before Greves unexpectedly rose high to get a kill to end it at 25-21.
 
The Thunderbirds again got off to a strong start in the third, as Gingera recorded three kills in quick succession before Robinson-Dunning served an ace to make it 4-2. The lead grew to 11-6 before the Dinos pushed back with five straight points to tie it up.

 
Neither team could create separation from there, with Moes and Calgary’s Jackson Meier trading kills late to even things at 24 and force some extra volleyball. With a second match point on offer, Gingera landed a massive kill off a frantic rally to close out the set at 26-24.
 
After starting the season 1-3, the Thunderbirds are now 8-4 and riding high heading into the winter break. Coach Hawkins said after the match that he’s pleased with the growth his young team has shown over the course of the semester.
 
“The reality is that we’ve got the greatest capacity to learn,” said Coach Hawkins. “It’s not going to be these huge jumps out of nowhere, it’s going to be us doing our job in training and in matches. And that’s why we’re sitting one game out of first place.”
 
The T-Birds now have five weeks before they play next, when following the extended holiday break they will take on UBC Okanagan on the road on January 5^th and 6^th. They won’t play at War Memorial Gym again until January 19^th against Manitoba.