T-Birds overwhelm Cougars with high-flying offence

For the second straight night, and third match in four to begin the season, the UBC Thunderbirds pulled off a 3-0 victory.

The T-Birds racked up 38 kills while hitting .383 as a team, and added 12 aces as well. The Cougars were held to a .012 hitting percentage by the stout UBC defence.

Lucy Borowski led the way for the hosts with 13 kills, five digs, three blocks and five aces, while Akash Grewal added nine kills on a .467 hitting percentage.

Second-year setter Mackenzie Campbell recorded 30 assists and two aces in her first career start. Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer praised both her as well as UBC’s full complement of outside hitters for providing a very balanced attack.

“I thought by and large [Campbell] put the ball in very hittable situations,” said Reimer. “Both Trinity Solecki and Kylee Glanville, I thought their approach really worked on a couple things we had talked about…that made us a lot tougher, because it took some of the load off of Lucy and Akash, attacking with that balance.”

Jordy McEachern put up eight kills and four digs for the visitors, while rookie Zoey Thompson notched two kills, five digs, a block and an ace in her Canada West debut.

The Cougars jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the first few points of the match, but the T-Birds ripped off a 7-1 run in response to take the lead, one that included a couple kills from Jocelyn Lenarcic. Regina kept fighting, and tied the score at 14 apiece, but three straight kills from Solecki put UBC back in control.

That was as close as it got for the visitors, as the T-Birds closed out the set 25-18 with Glanville ending it with a big kill.

UBC then came out hot in the second set, a block from Emelie Silovs capping a 5-1 burst. The Cougars again fought back and cut the lead to two, but a pair of aces and a kill by Borowski keyed another T-Birds run to make it 14-6.

The Thunderbirds didn’t let up from there and ended the set on a 9-0 run, as an ace from Campbell clinched it at 25-10.

With the chance to earn a second straight sweep, the T-Birds took full advantage. A pair of Glanville kills made it 7-2 to begin the third, followed by Borowski’s fifth ace of the night.

After Borowski and Tianna Kehler combined on a block to make it 14-5, UBC was well on their way to victory. Ella Ungemach finished off the night with a kill, and the T-Birds made it a 4-0 start to the season for the third straight year.
 

?? WVB | Hear from second-year setter Mackenzie Campbell after she made a successful first start for the T-Birds in a home win over Regina ??? #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/Vp1Hcxiqfk

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 27, 2024

All 13 Thunderbirds who were active for the match got playing time, reps that Reimer believes will benefit the team going forward.

“In my opinion it’s huge, because they get a feel, both good and bad, for things,” said Reimer. “When you can see yourself in that environment, now you go back into training for a purpose.”

UBC plays just one match next week, but it’s a big one. They take on archrivals Trinity Western at home on Friday, November 1st. That match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at War Memorial Gym.