Top-ranked T-Birds battle archrivals Spartans on Friday night

It’s a box office battle at War Memorial Gym on Friday, November 1st, as the UBC Thunderbirds, ranked #1 in U SPORTS, take on the #4 ranked Trinity Western Spartans.

Both teams are 4-0 as they prepare for this single-match weekend, with a second clash scheduled for November 8th in Langley. Regular season matchups don’t get any bigger than this, with the Thunderbirds and Spartans standing as two of the premier women’s volleyball programs in the country – combining for six of the last eight national championships.

“As a coach you need to get a measure of how we are doing against teams that can bring a lot to test us,” said Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer. “At the end of the day players want to be in tough matches. The challenge is that you know they will be well prepared, and so we need to be able to match that in our game plan and preparation.”

The T-Birds come into this week having won 12 sets and lost just two through the first four matches of the season. The attack is led by Lucy Borowski, who is averaging over 3.5 kills per set with a very efficient .317 hitting percentage, while also leading the team in total blocks (12). Akash Grewal continues to be a menace from the service line, and at 19 aces has almost double the total of anyone else in Canada West.

On the defensive end, Olivia Furlan has adapted quickly to her first year playing libero, and is fifth in the conference in digs (39). Fellow fifth-year senior Trinity Solecki is not too far behind her with 32 digs, as the outside hitter has provided a two-way boost.

The Spartans come into this weekend following back-to-back sweeps of the Brandon Bobcats. Their well-balanced offence includes four players who are averaging at least 2.5 kills per set, spearheaded by outside hitter Maryn Bolden who leads the team in both kills and digs.

The rivalry between the T-Birds and the Spartans has been about as even as it gets in recent years, with the two sides each winning 15 of their last 30 matchups in conference play. The Thunderbirds won 3-1 in their last meeting in Vancouver, which was back in February at the tail end of last season.

For UBC, facing off against their biggest rivals this early in the season provides a good litmus test.

“4-0 is a good start but we know we have a lot of room for growth and to see how we perform against one of the top teams in the league,” added Reimer.

Friday’s match is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. (PT) at War Memorial Gym.