T-Birds win in straight sets on banner night

VANCOUVER – It was a night of celebration at War Memorial Gym, as the T-Birds’ home opener included the unveiling of their 2024 U SPORTS National Championship banner, plenty of alumni in attendance, and a 3-0 victory over the Regina Cougars.

Akash Grewal was dominant, recording 12 kills, nine digs and six aces, all of which were team-highs or tied for the team-high. Lucy Borowski added 12 kills, five digs and two aces as UBC’s dynamic duo did damage down the outside. UBC as a team recorded 13 aces.

“I think we took it away from them early,” said Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer, “Akash’s serving run was just rocking it. Then as we got going I thought Issy Robertshaw served the ball very well, Lucy obviously has a very good serve…so we had like four people going that way and kept pressure on them.”

Reese Evjen was effective for the visitors with five kills, three digs and two blocks, while Jordy McEachern recorded four kills, three digs and three aces.

Grewal got the Thunderbirds going early in the first set, leading a run of eight unanswered points that included three aces in quick succession. The UBC only grew from there, with a Trinity Solecki kill making it 15-5 for the home team.

The T-Birds played strong defence throughout the set, forcing the Cougars into a number of attack errors. The aces continued to pile up, with Issy Robertshaw and Ella Ungemach both getting in on the action before the set ended with a score of 25-9 in favour of UBC.

The second set started more or less the same as the first, with the T-Birds jumping out to a 10-3 lead. This time it was Borowski leading the way, putting up four kills and two aces in those first 10 UBC points.

The Cougars made a push from there, cutting the lead down to four at a couple points, but that was as close as they got. A renewed UBC offensive, led by kills from Grewal and Kylee Glanville, closed out the set at 25-16.

Regina came out strong in the third, and the two teams went back and forth for the first chunk of the set. After a Borowski kill tied the score at 10 apiece, the T-Birds ripped off a 6-1 run to establish the lead they’d carry through the rest of the set. Back-to-back kills by Grewal ended the night as the Thunderbirds improved to 3-0 on the season.
 

?? WVB | Akash Grewal showed out in the Thunderbirds’ home opener, racking up 6 aces ??

The star outside hitter talks her serving prowess and how nice it was to win 3-0 on banner night at War Memorial Gym #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/yuA56J9l94

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) October 26, 2024

The Thunderbirds and Cougars face off again on Saturday night. The rematch gets underway at 7:00 p.m. (PT) at War Memorial Gym.