VANCOUVER -- The UBC Thunderbirds will have to rebound quickly from last week's sweep at the hands of Brandon, as they now lie 2.5 games back of a playoff spot and have four of their final six games of the year are against the two best teams in Canada West. The second-ranked Calgary Dinos are one of those teams, and they will be at War Memorial Gym this Friday, January 22 and Saturday, January 23 at 8:00 p.m. to take on the T-Birds.
A look at the Thunderbirds
The T-Birds finished the first half of the season with a 1-7 record. They did manage back-to-back victories against the winless Regina Cougars to begin the new year, but they followed up with two losses in Brandon to put them at 3-9. The Manitoba Bisons currently occupy the seventh and final playoff spot with a 5-6 record. The 'Birds do get to play the Bisons in 10 days times, but first they will need to try and take some points off of Calgary - the only two loss team in the Canada West.
The T-Birds have had their struggles this year but one area they have excelled in is blocking, where they lead the league with 2.73 blocks-per-game.
Joe Cordonier and
Demijan Savija have a lot to do with that, as they rank fourth and fifth respectively, each averaging more than a one block-per-game. Calgary ranks second in blocking, which should make for some interesting battles at the net.
Libero
Blair Bann is having another strong year, as he is on pace to lead the conference in digs once again. He currently leads the pack with 3.44 digs-per-game.
Demijan Savija leads the T-Birds offensively with 3.20 kills-per-game, however, he has played in only seven matches this season due to injury.
Robert Bennett is next with a 2.48 average, and is also second on the team in digs with 1.32 per game.
A look at the Dinos
As one of four teams within one game of each other at the top of the Canada West standings, the Dinos can't afford to slow down and admire what has been a successful 8-2 campaign so far. Six of their last eight games are on the road this year, so they will need to remain sharp as they look to capture top spot in the conference.
Strong blocking and serving have been their trademarks. The Dinos are second to UBC with 2.69 blocks-per-game, and they lead the conference with 1.32 service aces-per-game. Senior middle blocker Oleg Podporin is a big part of both efforts. He leads Canada West in blocking (1.24 per game) and is second in aces-per-game (0.41). He can also be a reliable offensive threat, as he is fourth in the conference with a .439 hitting percentage.
Graham Vigrass and Omar Langford lead the team in kills with 3.79 and 2.80 respectively, but both have missed significant time due to injury this season, forcing the Dinos to switch things up offensively. As a result, six different players have been set at least 114 times this year.
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