T-Birds top Cascades in straight sets

Abbotsford, BC – Despite a strong start by the hosts it was the UBC Thunderbirds who relied on a total team outing to down the Fraser Valley Cascades in straight sets 3-0 (25-19, 25-16, 25-23) on Friday night to open a weekend road series at the UFV Athletic Centre. 

It was a fourth win in five outings for the young UBC squad who improved to 5-4 this season, while the Cascades fall to 4-5 in Canada West play.   

As it happened: 
Tough Cascades blocking helped the Cascades snag an early lead, but UBC stormed back to level the opening set at 12. The teams traded points to 17 apiece before another Thunderbirds surge helped them pick up seven of the next nine points and a Kieran Robinson-Dunning Ace sealed the set.

Both teams traded points in the second, but with the score level at 12 UBC turned up the Heat. The visitors scored six points off a Mason Greves service run, before three Reeve Gingera kills helped them take the set 25-16.

With the teams tied at 15 in the third, UFV nabbed a lead after a block and a kill from Kyle Cook.  Four straight points from UBC flipped the advantage in favour of the visitors. UBC held a 23-22 lead, and a Nimo Benne serve threatened to level the score once again, but the ball struck the top of the net before rolling across the top of the top and falling agonizingly back on the UFV side to set up match point. Benne prolonged the match with a kill, but Conaire Taub made no mistake on the second match point to end the match 25-23.

The ‘Birds were able to set a tone early with some good habits that didn’t see their hitting percentage dip below 300 in any of the three sets, enjoying an average of .391% throughout highlighted by the second stanza where UBC managed to attack at a .500 percent efficiency meanwhile the Cascades averaged a hitting percentage of .157 throughout the match.

Top performers: 
Gingera had a match-leading 15 kills,Taub posted 12 kills while Gavin Moes added eight kills, seven digs and two aces for the Thunderbirds in the victory. Logan and Mason Greves each added 12 digs.

Benne had a team-high nine kills and 10 digs for UFV, while Easton Sarich posted eight kills and only one error on 15 swings. 

Up next:
The Cascades and Thunderbirds will face-off once again on Saturday in Abbotsford. Game time is set for 5 p.m. and the match can be seen live and on-demand on Canada West TV.