BRANDON - The No.1 ranked UBC Thunderbirds fought back from two one-set deficits to defeat the No. 9 Brandon Bobcats 3-2 on Friday night by set scores of 20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 26-24, 15-8 at Brandon University Gym.
The T-Birds (12-0) remain undefeated on the year and move to 5-0 against ranked opponents but had to fight hard to keep their record flawless. Down two sets to one and 23-23 in the fourth set the T-Birds clawed their way to a set victory thanks to a pair of
Kyla Richey kills and two Brandon errors to even the match. The fifth set would be all UBC who, leading 8-6, went on a five-point run on
Nicky Osborne's serve. Brandon committed three consecutive errors before an Osborne ace put the set out of reach at 12-6 as the visitors would close the match out at 15-8.
UBC head coach
Doug Reimer was impressed with the play of his British import. "At times tonight we didn't have our A-game but
Nicky Osborne competed very hard and set a good tone for us", said Reimer.
Liz Cordonier led all attackers with 14 kills as she continues her stellar fifth-season. A trio of T-Birds reached double figures to support Cordonier's attack as Richey,
Shanice Marcelle and
Jen Hinze all registered 10 kills.
Claire Hanna had one of her strongest defensive games of the year as the defending Canada West Libero of the Year gathered 17 digs.
The first set saw the 'Birds race out to a 5-0 lead that was answered strongly by the Bobcats who took the next eight points to lead 8-5 at the first break. The teams traded runs but UBC was never able to regain the lead eventually falling 25-20.
In the second frame the T-Birds found their game never allowing their hosts to establish any rhythm as their balanced attack and the smart serving of Cordonier had her side ahead 16-8 at the second technical timeout. The Bobcats would get as close as four points but three Marcelle kills down the stretch sealed the set for the T-Birds.
Any momentum gained in the second set was lost by the beginning of the third as the T-Bird attack went stagnant failing to register a kill until the 10th point and found themselves in an 8-2 hole. Three kills by Cordonier and two by Hinze ignited the UBC offence closing the gap to 9-7 before another four-point run had squared the match at 16. The T-Birds would run out of steam late as the home side closed the set on an 9-3 run to win 25-19.
The 'Birds would regain their form in the fourth but the visitors seemed to determine to hand the defending champs their first loss of the season. Their luck would run out however as the task derailing the UBC juggernaut even on an off-day would prove too much.
"Our ability to stay resilient, especially in a tough fourth set where we sided out very well was huge and then we carried that through to the fifth set where again we sided out eight of nine times", added Reimer.
The Thunderbirds will put their undefeated record on the line again when these two teams face off on Saturday at the Brandon University Gym at 4:00 PST.
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