VANCOUVER – The U SPORTS No.1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (15-1) have a major test on their hands right after being named the top team in the country, as the U SPORTS No.4-ranked Manitoba Bisons (14-2) come for their third visit to War Memorial Gym in under a year. The T-Birds first home matches of 2024 are slated to started at 6:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday and 5:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday.
Last weekend saw a significant shakeup at the top of the Canada West standings as both the ‘Birds and Bisons picked up a pair of massive road wins over nationally-ranked opponents to capture the top two spots in the conference. Manitoba visited what was then the top-ranked team in the country in Trinity Western and handed the Spartans their first two losses of the year, also leapfrogging them in the standings in the process. UBC visited frigid Edmonton and iced out their hosts, taking down the then U SPORTS No.5-ranked Alberta Pandas without dropping a set to claim top spot in both Canada West and the national rankings.
“I think I think we improved our play from the first week back after the break, which you could see in many aspects both offensively and defensively, as well as the fact that, individually, players came ready to compete,” reflected UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “I thought Issy (Robertshaw) looked more comfortable running the offence and Kacey Jost had a great weekend passing and defending.”
The blue and gold had a near-wobble coming out of the winter break when it took a furious fifth set come back to defeat the UBCO Heat in their first match back, only the second time UBC has had to play a fifth frame all season. The team has not dropped a set since then and has not lost a match since their only other five set affair, at tight loss at the University of the Fraser Valley in late November. This weekend’s games are the first at home for the ‘Birds since they took down the Calgary Dinos in straight sets on December 5th and 6th.
“I think we played very well when we were last at home in early December and think we are now getting back into that groove,” noted Reimer. “Obviously Manitoba is a tough test, so we will have to be assertive and do our best to take the play to them like we did when we were at our best first term.”
The last time the T-Birds lost at War Memorial Gym was nearly a full year ago against these same Bisons, who came to Point Grey and upset UBC in last season’s Canada West quarterfinal. The Thunderbirds did not have to wait long to get their revenge however, as the U SPORTS National Championships were played at War Memorial Gym weeks later. There, the T-Birds made an incredible run from the #7-seed to winning the national championship on their home floor, dispatching the Bisons 3-1 in the semi-final before taking the Canadian crown in an utterly unforgettable five-set thriller against Trinity Western. One of the great moments in UBC sports history.
The Bisons, who took Canada West bronze and finished fourth on the national stage, were a major storyline throughout the U SPORTS tournament because of the eye-popping explosiveness of then first-year hitter Raya Surinx. Her scintillating serves and blistering attacks single-handedly kept Manitoba in every one of its matchups.
This year, she’s even better.
Surinx is leading not just Canada West, but all of U SPORTS in both kills and kills per set by a wide margin. Only three players in the country have over 200 kills at this point in the season, Surinx has 272, a full 59 more kills than the next most prolific hitter. For context, the gap between the second-year dynamo and the second-place hitter is slightly bigger than the gap between second and 13th. That isn’t because Manitoba is playing particularly long matches either, even in kills per set her mark of 4.77 is an absurd .66 better than the next best hitter, also slightly more than the gap between second and 13th.
“Raya is a tremendous offensive attacker and a great server, we obviously have to pay attention to her velocity and range,” commented Reimer. “They also have other very good players and a well-balanced offense. They have the exact same players as last year’s team – no one graduated, so they are more experienced and playing well as a group. We can’t sit back and wait for them to make errors, we have to apply pressure in all areas starting with serving and our block and defence.”
Tickets for this weekend’s games are still available here. Stream all of the action, live or on demand, on Canada West TV.