The No.1 ranked UBC Thunderbirds fell to the conference second place, No. 4 ranked Manitoba Bisons in a five set thriller 3-2 (23-25, 27-25, 17-25, 25-22, 15-10) to split the weekend series on Saturday night at War Memorial Gym. The Bisons improve to 15-3 and hand the ‘Birds (16-2) only their second loss this season.
Akash Grewal led the Thunderbirds with 14 kills, four service aces and two blocks, while Lucy Borowski had 16 kills and 3 blocks in the hard-fought loss.
“We failed to execute down the stretch and play with the fire that we needed to close it out,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “Full credit to Manitoba for not backing down. They deserved the win, but it’s unfortunate because we had our opportunities to finish. We had so many good plays, and some of our players were hitting with a lot of velocity. I’m struggling to think of a league series that consistently was at this level.”
Second-year outside hitter Raya Surinx had a match-high 19 kills for the Bisons, Light Uchechukwu put up 17 kills and five blocks, while Eve Catojo and Brenna Bedosky added five blocks each.
Both teams struggled to pull ahead in the first set until an Ella Gray kill followed by a UBC attacking error gave the Bisons a two-point cushion. Just when the momentum seemed to be shifting towards the visitors, a three-point comeback culminating in an incredible Grewal dig and Katarina Pantovic kill tied the set at 12-12. Still, the Bisons showed their resilience, pulling ahead after landing on the winning side of a long rally and continuing to put away points for a 22-19 lead. The ‘Birds answered with a second and even more impressive comeback. Back-to-back Borowski blocks on Manitoba superstar Surinx tied the game at 22 all before Grewal took the set home at 25-23 with a service ace.
The Thunderbirds carried the momentum into the second frame to create an early eight-point lead at 14-8, forcing the Bisons into a timeout. After the pause, two UBC service errors and a series of killer blocks from Manitoba’s Bedosky brought the visiting team back into the game. Despite a combined six kills from Borowski and Emma Doyon in the set, the ‘Birds struggled to create another lead. Manitoba held the pressure all the way to the end, denying UBC two set points before tying the match at one set all off a kill by Uchechukwu. 27-25
The Thunderbirds took the driver’s seat in the third set, holding a decisive lead through almost the entirety of the frame. Borowski added five kills and two blocks to her tally, while Claire Cossarini earned four kills for UBC. It was a double block from the same two that ended the third set at 25-17 in favour of the hosts.
The fourth set saw the two teams go neck and neck once again. In a set with five lead changes, the ‘Birds and the Bisons found themselves tied at 20-20 after a signature Grewal ace. Fast forward two UBC errors, a Surinx kill and an Andi Almonte ace to a Manitoba match point put away by Uchechukwu at 25-22 to force a fifth set.
UBC zoomed to the technical switch, but the Bisons climbed their way back from a four-point deficit to lead the final set 11-9 and pressure the ‘Birds into a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Bisons showed their determination to redeem Friday night’s loss. With an outside hit by Surinx, Manitoba claimed the set 15-10.
The ‘Birds and Bisons both enter a bye week, returning on the first weekend of February for home-and-home matchups against the Trinity Western Spartans and Winnipeg Wesmen, respectively.
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