T-Birds sweep Pandas to advance to the Canada West Final

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds defeated the Alberta Pandas in straight sets 3-0 (28-26, 25-15, 25-20) to book their place in next weekend’s Canada West Final.
 
The Pandas started out the match hot knowing they needed to win to stave off the series loss, but the T-Birds rallied and took control as the match went on.
 
“Credit to our team to keep going after it,” said Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer. “It’s not easy to beat a team like that 3-0, 3-0 by any means, but I think we definitely earned it with some good all-around play.”
 

?? WVB | @ubcwvb1 end the third set with a 25-20 victory to win 3-0 against the Pandas! The T-Birds advance to the @CanadaWest finals for the first time since 2018 and earned their spot to defend their national title at the @USPORTSca championships! #GoBirdsGo

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— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) March 3, 2024

Akash Grewal put up 13 kills, four digs and three aces for UBC while Erika Vermette continued her strong postseason run with 11 kills and a season-high 13 digs. Issy Robertshaw compiled 35 assists, 10 digs and three blocks.
 
Laila Johnston recorded nine kills, four digs and four blocks for the visitors, with Abby Guezen putting up six kills and a season-high 16 digs in support.
 
With their backs against the wall following a Game 1 loss, the Pandas jumped out to a 12-4 lead in the first set. UBC went on a brief run to cut into the lead, but Alberta responded with an ace by Justine Kolody made it 18-12.
 
From there the tide began to turn, as the T-Birds chipped away at the lead. Kills by Claire Cossarini and Grewal made it 21-18, and after Alberta had multiple chances at set point the T-Birds fought each of them off to tie the score at 24.
 

?? WVB | @ubcwvb1‘s Claire Cossarini with the winning block! The T-Birds take the first set 28-26! #GoBirdsGo

??: https://t.co/TdjaH9qtA1 pic.twitter.com/lG4dmfbi8l

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) March 3, 2024

With the momentum behind them UBC was able to nudge in front for their first lead of the set, and finished it off at 28-26 with a big block from Cossarini.
 
Lucy Borowski got the T-Birds going early in the second with a couple kills, and then a block from Vermette and Cossarini made it 6-2 for the home team.

 
The lead snowballed from there, jumping to 10-4 after a kill by Emma Doyon, before a 7-0 burst capped by another Cossarini block made it 20-9. UBC cruised from there, closing out a 25-15 set win for their biggest margin of victory in any set in the series.
 
The T-Birds again got out to a strong start in the third, with the high-water mark being a Borowski ace that made it 10-3. The Pandas, however, found the fire to reel off a massive 11-4 run to tie the score at 14.
 
Back on their heels a bit, the Thunderbirds rallied and went on a run of their own. Back-to-back blocks from the duo of Robertshaw and Cossarini put the score at 22-16 and UBC found themselves in the driver’s seat once again.

 
A few more errors by Alberta was enough to see the T-Birds across the finish line, as they made it a perfect 12 wins in 12 sets in the first two rounds of the postseason. UBC is now in the Canada West Final for the first time since 2018, and have the chance to win their first conference championship since 2014.
 
The win also means the ‘Birds have clinched a spot at the upcoming national championship tournament, giving them the chance to defend their title from last season.

 
“You want that chance, you want to get back to the national championships,” added coach Reimer. “You don’t know how things are going to pan out, but we get to play on the last weekend and hopefully we’re playing for something meaningful on the last day.”
 
UBC will host the single-match Canada West Final at War Memorial Gym on Saturday, March 9 at 5:00 p.m. PT. They will face off against the Manitoba Bisons, who have become quite the foe in the last couple seasons.
 

?? WVB | @ubcwvb1‘s Akash Grewal reflects on the T-Birds comeback victory, after the team went down 12-4 to begin the match before rallying to win in straight sets!

Grewal led all players with 13 kills and 3 aces, oh gosh what a game from Akash! #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/cNENKNuEwb

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) March 3, 2024

In last year’s Canada West playoffs it was the Bisons who eliminated the Thunderbirds in the quarterfinals, before UBC got their revenge in the national semifinals. The two teams split their weekend series in the regular season back in January.
 
The Pandas meanwhile will return out west next weekend to meet the University of Fraser Valley Cascades in the Canada West bronze medal match, the winner receives an automatic berth at the U SPORTS National championships in Hamilton.