VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (12-9) earned a 3-1 (15-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-20) win over the Winnipeg Wesmen (8-13) on a celebratory evening at War Memorial Gym to draw even with the Brandon Bobcats (12-9) for fifth in the Canada West standings and clinch a playoff berth on Senior Weekend.
“Guys understood the significance of this weekend,” said UBC head coach Mike Hawkins. “Senior’s Weekend is unique because there are other aspects to celebrate that add to the special atmosphere, with so many friends, family and alumni here tonight. I think the story of the game was patience. I thought in the first set we were really impatient…and I think our wheels were spinning a little too fast and I think the lengthy set break between one and two was actually really beneficial, because for the rest of the game we were patient in understanding what we needed to do. We knew Winnipeg were going to make a lot of great plays, and I think they played really well, but we kept out course without forcing too many things.”
MVB | SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT!
Former long-time @ubcmvb head coach & Hall of Famer, Dale Ohman made a game-changing donation to the program on Friday evening with an extraordinarily generous estate gift! ??#GoBirdsGo
“Dale is a really special figure in the program’s history with the contributions he’s had as a coach and that have continued as a supporter,” continued Hawkins after the exciting announcement during the match. “We talk all the time about a legacy of excellence, and the legacy he’s leaving with the financial support is going to provide so many more opportunities for our program and Thunderbirds for years to come.”
Matt Neaves posted a team-high 18 kills with two aces and five blocks, Michael Dowhaniuk added 11 kills and eight digs, while James Vincett had five kills, three aces and six blocks in the win. Nigel Nielsen and Liam Kristjanson each had 13 kills for the Wesmen in the loss.
Eric Dornez gave the Wesmen an 8-6 lead with a kill and Kristjanson added to the advantage with kill at 16-10. UBC struggled to gain traction and trailed 23-14 after an attack error – going on to comfortably win the set 25-15 on a Traa ace.
The T-Birds jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second and led 15-11 with a blistering Neaves kill. Dowhaniuk flew in from the back row for a kill at 20-14 then capped off the frame with another kill at 25-15.
James Vincett lifted the T-Birds to an early 11-8 edge with a big block in the third set, before the Wesmen clawed back to tie it at 19-19 with a block of their own. The block party continued with a Neaves block for a narrow 21-19 lead and again at 23-19 T-Birds, as Vincett closed the set at 25-20. After a tight start to the fourth set, Mason Greves earned a solo block for an 18-13 lead to force a Wesmen timeout. Neaves cranked a cross-court kill for a match point at 24-20 and the T-Birds finished it on a Wesmen net violation at 25-20.
UBC and Winnipeg are back at it on Saturday evening at 6:45 p.m. (PT) in their regular season home court finale inside War Memorial Gym.