VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds showed flashes of strength on Saturday night against Trinity Western, but their inconsistencies were too much to overcome and the Spartans won another 3-1 decision (17-25, 25-15, 25-20, 25-20) at War Memorial Gym.
In the first set, the T-Birds looked like a completely different team from the one that dropped Friday's season opener to the Spartans. They hit .250 as a team, up from .068 on Friday, and cruised to a relatively easy 25-17 set win on the strength of good serving and 10 combined kills from
Rayel Quiring,
Shanice Marcelle and
Jessica von Schilling. But they followed that up with a team hitting percentage of zero in the second set, allowing the Spartans to return the favour with an easy set win of their own.
"The swings in play were just massive today," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "No simple answer - it's just early in the season and with a lot of new players on the court those are the growing pains you're going to go through."
Those swings continued in the third set, when the T-Birds found themselves trailing 15-6 before their 12-3 run drew them level with the visitors at 18. But the Spartans responded with a 7-2 run to close out the set and take a 2-1 lead. The teams combined for 15 errors in the third.
"When we were going well we were serving the ball and passing well, but after the first set our attack efficiency was just not good enough and a lot of factors go into that," said Reimer.
UBC would finish with a .071 attacking percentage, while the Spartans hit .173 as a team.
The fourth set saw the T-Birds fall behind by five before battling back to make it a one-point game near the end, but two late kills by Kara Jansen Van Doorn gave the visitors enough of a cushion to close out the match.
Jansen Van Doorn had a game-high 15 kills while adding 10 digs. Alicia Perrin had a good game on attack as well, with nine kills on .353 hitting. Spartans setter Chelsea Hudson had a well-rounded performance, with three kills and 34 assists to go along with seven digs, three block assists and a solo block.
Marcelle led the T-Birds with 12 kills, and tied Quiring for the team digs lead with 11. Quiring also chipped in six kills and had a solid night at the net with seven block assists.
The T-Birds will remain at home next weekend, where they will look for their first win against the Alberta Pandas. Their games go at 6 p.m. on November 5 and 6 at War Memorial Gym. The Spartans will be back in Langley for their home opener against Thompson Rivers.
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