T-Birds comeback falls short in Canada West final

VANCOUVER ­– The UBC Thunderbirds fought back from an early 2-0 deficit but were eventually outlasted by the Manitoba Bisons 3-2 (25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 23-25, 15-12) as the visitors claimed the Canada West championship gold medal at a sold out War Memorial Gym on Saturday night.
 
“It was such a great match by two great teams and a great crowd,” said Bisons head coach Ken Bentley. “Couldn’t have asked for more, for this conference and what this conference represents I think and level of play. The match does not surprise me in terms of how close it was going to be, up 2-0 or down 2-0 it makes no difference and I thought we weathered that storm really well. Each set we came back and started all over again and hey they nipped us in sets three and four but we stayed at it and down four nothing but just stayed in it and stayed persistent and just really proud of the group and the fact that we just kept playing Bison volleyball until the end.”
 
“To beat a really good team, you have to be a really good team, individually and how you play together,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “In some ways, while it hurts, it’s good to have to face that kind of adversity now and see how we recover.”

 
Raya Surinx was a difference-maker in her first postseason game back from injury, earning 15 kills for the Bisons. Teammates Ella Gray and Light Uchechukwu each added 15 kills, while libero Julia Arnold had 21 digs in the hard-fought victory.
 
Lucy Borowski led the ‘Birds with 16 kills. Close behind was Akash Grewal with 13 kills and four aces, while 2023/24 Canada West Libero Kacey Jost pulled out an impressive 24 digs to earn player of the match honours.
 
The Bisons came out of the gates with a statement Gray spike, setting the tone for what would be a thrilling championship game. The ‘Birds quickly brought back an early three-point deficit with an Erika Vermette kill, only to fall back behind shortly after. Feeding off the energy of the crowd, both teams played with a vigor and scrappiness that electrified the atmosphere. The Bisons stayed ahead, taking advantage of UBC’s mistakes and ended the set on a beautiful rally culminating in a Uchechukwu kill for at 25-17.

 
The second set started with a Claire Cossarini kill, giving the T-Birds false hope for a set victory. After going down early, a huge Vermette block brought UBC within two points of the visitors at 8-6. The T-Birds had some exceptional plays, but the Bisons did a good job of stopping the host from stringing together more than two points. A final effort from the ‘Birds clawed them back from a ten-point gap but fell short when the Bisons took the set at 25-17 off an Emma Doyon service error.
 
The third set saw more of the same action between the two teams. Surinx set the ‘Birds back with a Canada West player-of-the-year-worthy kill to make it 10-6 Manitoba. Midway through the set, back-to-back Borowski kills swayed the momentum in favour of the ‘Birds, and for the first time this game, the home team was able to control the court. The T-Birds went on an 8-3 run to come within a point of the Bisons and force a timeout at 18-17, before tying the set at 22-22 with a Cossarini-Borowski double block. After saving a match point, UBC claimed the frame at 26-24 with a cross-court Vermette kill.
 

?? WVB | @ubcwvb1‘s Trinity Solecki with the winning kill! The T-Birds take the fourth set 25-23 extending the gold medal match against the Bisons at booming War Memorial Gym! #GoBirdsGo

??: https://t.co/TdjaH9qtA1 pic.twitter.com/FIlUdzt8Hj

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) March 10, 2024

The Thunderbirds showed renewed energy in the fourth, staying neck-and-neck with the Bisons through the first half of the set. Just when things were looking up for the ‘Birds, the Bisons capitalized on three consecutive UBC service errors to pull ahead 18-13. Not ready to give up the fight yet, back-to-back signature Grewal aces lessened the gap to two before Vermette found an opening deep in Manitoba court for a UBC match-point. Trinity Solecki took the set at 25-23 to tie it all up at 2-2 and force a deciding fifth set.

 
Powered by Grewal on the service line, the ‘Birds jumped to a 4-0 lead in the final set. UBC, however, would lose its lead just as quickly as it had gained it, allowing eight consecutive Manitoba points. The T-Birds came out of the technical switch with a Cossarini kill in a final effort for the Canada West trophy. Despite big kills by Grewal and Cossarini, it was the Bisons who took the set with a Gray kill at 15-12 for Canada West gold.
 
“This is one of our favourite gyms to play in honestly, added Bentley, referencing the raucous atmosphere at sold out War Memorial Gym. “We’ve had really good success here and obviously we respect the UBC program and all that they’ve done, and we just wanted to come here and give it a good fight but we’ve played here a lot over the last two years, I think eight matches so that part didn’t affect us, the crowd was great and we couldn’t have asked for a better atmosphere.”
 
The Bisons and T-Birds will head to Hamilton next weekend for the U SPORTS Championships at McMaster University, which will be held from March 15 to 17.