EDMONTON – The UBC Thunderbirds (14-1) are now alone atop the Canada West standings after defeating the Alberta Pandas (12-3) by a score of 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-23) at the Saville Community Sport Centre on a frigid Friday night.
Even with the temperature outside at -35C (-52C with the windchill) the T-Birds remained red hot, handling the U SPORTS No.5-ranked Pandas in straight sets to claim their fifth straight victory.
UBC is currently ranked second in the country, however the only team ahead of them, Trinity Western, dropped their first game of the year on Friday night in a loss to Manitoba. That means the ‘Birds now have sole possession of first place in Canada West and, depending on Saturday’s results, a real chance of claiming the top spot in all of U SPORTS as well.
The T-Birds’ Akash Grewal led the match in both kills and aces, with nine and two respectively, while tying for the team lead with five digs. Lucy Borowski had a match-high seven blocks, along with eight kills, five digs and four assists. Claire Cossarini and Emma Doyon chipped in with four blocks each as part of a strong defensive effort from UBC’s front row.
For the Pandas, Lauryn Tremblay led the way with seven kills and an ace. Allie Moore easily paced the team in blocks with six. Kaylsta Knappett also chipped in with a match-best seven digs.
“We had a lot of really strong performances offensively and defensively from many players,” commented UBC head coach Doug Reimer after the victory. “I was proud of our ability to execute and maintain a high level of play, especially when Alberta pushed back in the second half of the match.”
The two teams will square off again on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. (PT). Stream all of the action, live or on demand, on Canada West TV.