T-Birds complete home-and-home sweep over Spartans on Pride Night

VANCOUVER – The U SPORTS No.1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds defeated their long-time rivals, Trinity Western Spartans 3-1, (25-17, 25-15, 25-22, 25-22) in front of an energized, colourful and packed Pride Night crowd at War Memorial Gym, Friday night.
 
With the win the T-Birds completed the home-and-home series sweep, improving to 18-2 on the season while inching closer to locking in an enviable home-court advantage for the upcoming Canada West playoffs. The setback saw the Spartans fall to 16-4 in what was a rematch of the U SPORTS national championship final from March 2023.

Third-year star outside hitter Lucy Borowski dominated the stat sheet for the ‘Birds with 17 kills, three blocks and an ace. The remaining UBC kills were evenly earned, with teammates Erika Vermette and Elizabeth Lee counting six kills each. Akash Grewal added five kills and three aces while Claire Cossarini also tallied five kills to go along with two aces.

“It’s 100 per cent a team win and a showcase of our depth,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “Very meaningful victory from that point and meaningful in the standings.”
 
The Spartan’s Maryn Boldon scored an impressive 14 kills, while teammate Kaylee Plouffe contributed 10 kills, three aces and seven blocks. Grace McGillivray added four kills.

 
Both teams started shaky, sharing four attacking errors and knotting the match 5-5 until the T-Birds’ third-year standout, Grewal, responded with a pair of aces. The lead, however, was short-lived as the Spartans refused to give the ‘Birds breathing room, with TWU’s second-year outside hitter, Bolden, swiftly producing two powerful kills at the net, again evening the match at 13-13. Late in the frame, UBC gained stride with Borowski, racking up six kills and a service ace, culminating on a Victoria D’acre ace to give the ‘Birds a 25-17 opening set victory.

The visitors entered the second set looking strong, taking a narrow lead with third-year Spartan blocker Plouffe, looking dangerous at the net, launching two kills early on. The T-Birds responded with Borowski continuing her kill-streak from the first set, dominating the right side of the court with multiple, blistering, back-to-back kills. UBC maintained a comfortable lead with Cossarini stacking up blocks, Grewal serving aces, and Borowski smashing kills, forcing a Spartan timeout with the score 16-10. The ‘Birds rode momentum late into the frame, with a Solecki kill from the right side on the final play to secure a T-Birds 25-15 set win. 

 
The Spartans looked eager to switch the script early in the third, quickly gaining a 6-2 lead with a flurry of powerful blocks, forcing the ‘Birds to use a timeout. After the pause, the T-Birds began crawling back, and with a D’Acre serve narrowly tipping over the net for an ace, the visitor’s lead was narrowed to 12-11, leading to TWU timeout. The Spartans looked strong following the break, increasing the lead to 17-12,  but with an exuberant and nearly-full War Memorial Gym erupting with every home team point, the ‘Birds clawed their way to a 21-17 deficit aided by a continued Borowski hot streak propelling the blue and gold to a 22-22 tie-game thanks to an Elizabeth Lee rocket from the left side. The home crowd’s cheers were short-lived after a pair of Spartan kills from Bolden clinched the frame for TWU at 25-22.
 

?? WVB | @ubcwvb1‘s Victoria D’Acre serves, followed with the winning kill from Trinity Solecki! Great response of energy for Pride Night at War Memorial Gym as T-Birds win 25-23 in fourth set! ??????#GoBirdsGo

??: https://t.co/TdjaH9qtA1 pic.twitter.com/C50FGmNSoN

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) February 3, 2024

Both teams traded points early in the fourth, the Spartans gaining a slim lead with Plouffe and Boldon leading TWU in kills at seven and nine, respectively, but as the frame progressed, the T-Birds responded at the net accumulating kills to eventually even the score 9-9 from a pair of Erika Vermette aces. Evenly matched in the middle of the frame, both teams traded points, but TWU’s Plouffe proved dangerous at the net, continuing to utilize any T-Bird mistakes in the air. UBC called a timeout as the frame progressed to a 20-17 TWU lead. After the pause, the ‘Birds jumped in front 22-21 after a marathon rally, with Solecki finishing the exchange by forcing past a Spartan blocker for the kill and a TWU timeout. Following the break, the ‘BIrds continued to use momentum, and at 24-22, a diving D’Acre save led to a seamless setup for Lee to blast the ball out of reach for TWU and into a T-Bird win 25-22 as War Memorial Gym erupted in cheers. 

For Reimer, the game was special.

“You look out there as the stands are filling … it’s a wonderful thing if we can provide even a measure of support,” said Reimer. “For me personally and for the program, it’s very meaningful, win or lose.”
 

?? WVB | @ubcwvb1 completes the home-&-home sweep vs @TWUSpartans with a 3-1 victory in front of an exuberant sold out crowd for Pride Night ?????? at War Memorial Gym!

3rd-yr T-Bird Lucy Borowski led the way with 17 kills & spoke to how big a win & important a night it was!

??: pic.twitter.com/PpBE6Ka0yj

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) February 3, 2024

The ‘Birds will take a trip to Saskatoon next week for back-to-back meetings vs the University of Saskatchewan Huskies (7-11) beginning Friday afternoon, February 9th at 4 p.m.