LANGLEY, BC - The no. 7 UBC Thunderbirds (1-3) suffered their second straight defeat to the no. 10 Trinity Western Spartans (2-0) at the brand new Langley Event Centre, dropping Saturday night's match 3-1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-20, 25-14).
Charlie Stewart led the Thunderbirds with 13 kills with
Robert Bennett also hitting double figures with 10. As a team the 'Birds only hit for .162, notching 46 kills on 130 attacks.
Blair Bann had another standout performance on defence with the two-time Canada West Libero of the Year notching a match-high 23 digs. T-Bird newcomer
Riley McFarland had a big-time performance off the bench for UBC with six kills and was praised by head coach
Richard Schick after the game.
"Riley did a really good job coming off the bench tonight. He played with a lot of heart and all the work he has done this year in training translated into results tonight," said Schick.
Behind the duo of Steven Marshall and Marc Howatson, who finished with 13 and 12 kills respectively, the host Spartans were just slightly better on the night as they tallied 48 kills on 132 attacks for a .197 hitting percentage.
The hosts also narrowly out blocked the T-Birds 10-9 with both teams picking up 54 digs.
After a first set performance in which they led from nearly start to finish en route to a 25-22 win, the T-Birds struggled to keep pace over the final three frames.
UBC had strong starts to both the second and third sets but the visitors couldn't capitalize on their momentum.
Up 5-1 out of the gate in the second, UBC saw TWU whittle down that advantage until they pulled even at 10-10. The two squads went back and forth before the Spartans earned a three point lead at 21-18. That margin was enough as TWU held on for 25-22 win.
In the third frame UBC again jumped out to an early advantage, leading 8-5 at the first technical timeout. A six-point run midway through the set all but sealed the T-Birds fate as they dropped the third 25-20.
The Spartans didn't allow the visitors any momentum in the fourth as they raced out to a 15-6 lead before closing out the match with a 25-14 triumph.
UBC is off next weekend before traveling to Saskatchewan for a pair of matches on November 13 and 14.
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