T-Birds secure series sweep over Saskatchewan

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (12-2) completed a weekend sweep to start the new year with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-21) win over the Saskatchewan Huskies (9-5) at War Memorial Gym. UBC showed off their depth with five players recording five or more kills, as Elise Petit led the way with 10 kills, Cara Kovacs had nine kills with three aces and four blocks, and Lucy Borowski put up eight kills and nine digs.
 
“Saskatchewan played all three sets hard right to the very end – especially in the second set,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “You need those experiences. You can’t simulate those in practice, so to come out with a 3-0 win is a good accomplishment for our group. There were definitely some plays that weren’t pretty, but that’s part of the process too. Overall, I want to give credit to Jayde [Robertsen] who hasn’t played in a while, Lucy hadn’t played a league game since mid-November, and Kacey Jost was really good throughout the match tonight. Since the Huskies pushed us tonight, there are definitely things we can learn from moving forward.”
 

WVB | Three. Straight. Sets… Again! With 9 kills and 3 aces from Cara Kovacs, @ubcwvb1 gets another straight set win over @HuskiesWVB to get the weekend sweep!#GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/o4HvTJHanT

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) January 8, 2023

Olivia Mattern and Mandi Fraser each notched four kills for Saskatchewan on Saturday evening – with Mattern adding six total blocks and eight digs – while Julia Howell Bourner had nine total digs to go along with three kills in the loss.  

 
Mattern got up for a kill from the left side to bring the Huskies within seven at 16-9 UBC but was blocked by Petit at 18-9. Akash Grewal put away an overpass to earn UBC a set point and Emma Doyon closed it out at 25-12.
 
The Huskies kept pace with the T-Birds in the second set, as a Mattern block put Saskatchewan up 6-5. Kovacs responded with a kill from the middle and back-to-back aces to reclaim a narrow 8-7 lead. With the score even at 20-20, Erika Vermette cracked a kill, and the T-Birds didn’t look back en route to a 25-22 win on another Vermette kill.

 
UBC led throughout the third – going up 20-11 on a Kovacs kill before the Huskies pulled within six thanks to a Mattern kill at 21-15. Saskatchewan fought hard and drew within three after a Howell Bourner block late in the set, but the ‘Birds settled in and finished it, 25-21.
 
The Thunderbirds are back in action on home court to host the UBC Okanagan Heat (8-6) on Friday, January 13^th, at 6:00 p.m. (PT) and Saturday, January 14^th, at 5:00 p.m. (PT) as they look to improve on a four-match win streak. Saskatchewan will return home to face the top-seeded Trinity Western Spartans (13-1) next weekend in Saskatoon.