VANCOUVER - For the third consecutive season, the UBC Thunderbirds will be raising the CIS Championship banner to the rafters of War Memorial Gym. The celebration of the 2009-10 team's triumph is scheduled for Friday night, following their season opener against the Trinity Western Spartans.
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A LOOK AT THE THUNDERBIRDS
The
Doug Reimer-coached T-Birds have been about as successful as a team can be in recent years, and they will certainly have targets on their backs this season as three-time defending CIS champions. In fact, one could argue that they are victims of their own success this year, as they will be without All-Canadians
Kyla Richey and
Jen Hinze for the first three weeks of the season while they compete with the Canadian senior women's national team at the FIVB World Championships in Japan.
But Reimer is used to soldiering on in the absence of his best players at this point, having lost key members of a CIS gold medal-winning squad two years in a row, only to repeat as champions each time. This time around, reigning CIS Player of the Year
Liz Cordonier is the big loss, while Canada West Libero of the year
Claire Hanna's and setter
Katie Tyzuk's absences will certainly be felt as well.
The T-Birds are currently riding a 40-match winning streak that stretches back to January 2009, and even without some important personnel this weekend, they have the talent to keep it going.
Shanice Marcelle averaged 2.54 kills-per-game last season as part of an extremely balanced attack, and has shown the capability to take over a match over her short but impressive two-year career at UBC. Middle
Jessica von Schilling averaged 1.49 kills and was second in the conference with 1.21 blocks-per-game in her solid rookie campaign. Reimer also added 2009 U17 National Player of the Year
Lisa Barclay to his squad, giving the 'Birds another talented outside, capable of producing some thundering kills from her hitter position.
A LOOK AT THE SPARTANS
The Spartans were bounced from the Canada West Final Four by Regina last year after a solid season that saw them finish at 13-7, but they did lose a few key pieces from that squad. Gone are two solid all-around players in Kim Klassen and Carmen Dyck, who put up good numbers in both the kills and digs categories last season. They will also be without middle Ismay Schon, who led the team with 1.11 blocks-per-game. But their two best players in 2010 were Kara Jansen VanDoorn and Lauren O'Reilly, who should both be back on the court for TWU this year.
Jansen VanDoorn was named a second-team Canada West All Star for leading the team with 3.25 kills-per-game while also chipping in 2.28 digs, which was second only to Klassen. O'Reilly, the team's setter, earned a first-team All Star nod, but like UBC's Richey and Hinze, she will be unavailable this weekend while she plays with the Canadian national team in Japan. Chelsea Hudson will likely take her place against the T-Birds, as she averaged just under six assists in 18 sets of action last season. The Spartans went 3-4 in preseason action against a mix of Canada West opponents and American schools.
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