HAMILTON, Ont. – After reaching the Canada West Final for the first time since 2018, the UBC Thunderbirds (22-2, 4-1) are ready to defend their national title as the No.2-seed at the U SPORTS Championships at McMaster University this weekend. The T-Birds start the eight-team single elimination tournament with a quarter-final matchup against the host Marauders at 3:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday.
The ‘Birds followed up last year’s U SPORTS Gold-winning season by improving their record by four wins, finishing atop the Canada West regular season standings. The blue and gold swept away their quarter-final and semifinal opponents without dropping a single set, clinching a return to the national championships in the process.
While UBC lost a five-set thrilled in the conference championship match to Manitoba, the ‘Birds flexed their depth in that game. Canada West Coach of the Year Doug Reimer stuck to his philosophy of setting up the team for future success, while also gaining valuable rest for his veterans, ahead of the season’s real prize: a shot at winning back-to-back U SPORTS championships for the first time since UBC’s dynastic mid-2000s run of six straight national titles.
“We were a bit disappointed with our play,” commented Reimer. “On the flip side, I think that a lot of teams, after going down 2-0 and then trailing in the third, would not have been able to push it to five sets. There was a positive side around our ability to hang in there.”
“What we can take out of the Canada West Championship loss was great experience in a noisy gym, a pressure packed situation. Now it’s going to be a pretty intense environment on Friday night.”
To get there and complete their goal, the T-Birds will have to win in a far different format than they’ve been competing in all year, defeating three opponents in three days. Coach Reimer says the only approach to that situation is to focus on what the team does best.
“It’s about our team’s ability to recognize what our identity is,” mused the 10-time U SPORTS Champion head coach. “Knowing how we play, reflecting on what we’ve learned from last weekend, and carrying those lessons forward.”
The first of UBC’s opponents is McMaster. The Marauders only made the Championships because they are the hosts, however they may well be a top-eight team in country. McMaster reached the Quigley Cup (the OUA’s championship match) before falling 3-1 to the Brock Badgers. Finishing the regular season at 15-5, McMaster ended the year as the U SPORTS No.9-ranked team, eight spots behind UBC.
“They’re very athletic, they’re solid, they’ve got some good experience,” assessed Reimer. “They’re just a quality team. We’re going to have to play consistent volleyball, we can’t sit back and wait for them to make a ton of errors, we’re going to have to earn our points.”
Not only do the two sides mirror each other as far as being finalists in the two most historically successful volleyball conferences (though Canada West laps the field several times over in national championships) but the T-Birds are matching up with a team in the exact position that they won a U SPORTS banner from last year: the No.7-seed and host.
“Your home crowd does help you, we know that well, and we’re prepared to manage that,” concluded Reimer. “We’re going to be ready for a high volume of noise.”
“Last year, when we got bounced in the Canada West playoffs, we entered nationals knowing we weren’t a token host team, and it’s the exact same with McMaster.”
Friday’s 3:00 p.m. (PT) quarter-final can be streamed on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca or CBC’s Youtube channel. If the Thunderbirds win, their semifinal would be at 3:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday. The U SPORTS Championship Match is set for 3:00 p.m. (PT) on Sunday.
Find the full tournament schedule here.