T-Birds hosting Dinos in final games before winter break

VANCOUVER – The U SPORTS No.2-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (9-1) are hosting the University of Calgary Dinos (4-6) for a two-game set at War Memorial Gym this weekend in the team’s final games before the winter break. Friday’s match is set to start at 6:00 p.m. (PT) and Saturday’s at 5:00 p.m. (PT).

The defending national champion T-Birds suffered their first loss of the season this past Saturday, dropping a five-set thriller to the U SPORTS No.5-ranked UFV Cascades after winning in the valley in 3-1 the night before. The hard-fought defeat bumped UBC out of being the top-ranked team in the country, and from first place in Canada West, for the first time all year, as they now narrowly trail archrival Trinity Western (10-0) in both categories.
 

“It was a tough weekend and given some injuries I thought we battled hard and played well as a group given varying lineups,” commented UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “We had chances to win on Saturday night, but still felt good about our ability to play hard and come back.”
 
Between those injuries and the significant group of graduating seniors leaving the team after last season, a variety of players have had the chance to step up for the blue and gold. Four different T-Birds have led the team in kills over their last five matches, as the depth of the roster has been on full display over the first half of the season, also leaving opponents guessing as to which attacker will be spearheading the offence on a given night.
 
“Kat Pantovic has brought a strong offensive presence and had a lot of strong nights from the left side,” said Reimer, when asked about who has impressed him of late. “Lucy Borowski was a stand out last weekend bringing not only offence and serving but also stepping in to set and pass as needed. She showed great versatility and really competed hard.”
 

Pantovic slipped past Borowski and Akash Grewal for the team lead in kills per set over the weekend, though the team is so balanced that no individual hitters rank in the top 15 in Canada West in that category, despite UBC’s stellar 9-1 record.
 
This weekend’s opponent, the Calgary Dinos, are coming off of a five-set comeback win over Mount Royal, which snapped a three-game losing streak. Last season the T-Birds and Dinos played a pair of spirited matches in Calgary’s Jack Simpson gym, which the ‘Birds won 3-1 and 3-2.
 
“Our coaches have been impressed with (Calgary’s) improvement in recent games compared to when we saw them in preseason in October,” noted Reimer. “They are a much steadier team that is executing effectively.”

 
The T-Birds have a chance to enter the winter break with a better record than last year’s national championship team if they take care of business against Calgary. UBC will be off for just over a month after the double dip with the Dinos and don’t play at War Memorial Gym again for six weeks, finally returning on January 19th against the Manitoba Bisons.
 
Tickets to this weekend’s games can still be purchased here. Stream all Thunderbirds regular season volleyball action on Canada West TV.