T-Birds stay atop conference standings with sweep of Heat

KELOWNA – Make it four victories in a row for the UBC Thunderbirds (13-1) as they defeated their sister school in the Okanagan for a second straight night, winning 3-0 (25-18, 25-22, 25-22) on the road against the UBCO Heat (5-9).

Saturday’s victory was not as dramatic as Friday’s five set marathon, but the underdog Heat remained competitive with the defending national champions in each set. The win is the fourth in a row for the T-Birds, dating back to before the winter break. The loss marks the fifth straight defeat for the Heat.

It was the home side who got out to the quicker start, taking an early 8-5 first set lead thanks to a pair of emphatic kills from Olivia Tymkiw. However, trailing 14-12, the T-Birds went on a big 13-4 run, closing out the set on a kill by Katarina Pantovic.
 
In the second set, the T-Birds were in control from the get go, with Emma Doyon shining through the middle part of the frame with 3 kills. UBCO would make a late push thanks to a great serving run from Amaya Perry, one of the top servers in CW history, that featured two aces. UBC’s Erika Vermette would ultimately snuff out the rally with a kill to capture the set.
 

UBCO pushed to keep the match alive in the third frame and got off to a fast start, leading 12-8 thanks to a 6-0 run off the strength of Hellen Lacava’s serving. UBC slowly clawed their way back into the set on the back of a service run of their own from serving specialist Victoria D’Acre. The Heat would make a late push once again, but another Vermette kill wrapped up the three set sweep.
 
It was a balanced attack for the ‘Birds in the victory, as no player had more than seven kills, with Doyon and Akash Grewal both reaching that mark. Middle Claire Cossarini posted a game-high four blocks. Setter Issy Robertshaw dished out 28 assists to go along with a match-best four aces.
 
On the other side, UBCO’s Tymkiw led all hitters with eight kills. Tessa Ivans had eight digs and an assist, while Hellen Luvizetti Lacava did a bit of everything, posting four kills, six digs, an assist, a block, and an ace.
 
The Heat will look to snap their losing streak when they host the Calgary Dinos next weekend. The T-Birds will continue their road trip with a visit to Edmonton for a battle of the top two teams in Canada West when they take on the Alberta Pandas.