VANCOUVER - Following a pair of hard fought defeats to the no. 7 Manitoba Bisons, the UBC Thunderbirds (2-6) are aiming to end the first half of their season on a high note this weekend at War Memorial. They welcome the Saskatchewan Huskies (1-5) to Vancouver this weekend.
First serve is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on Friday and 8:00 p.m. on Saturday.
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A look at the Thunderbirds
UBC played admirably on the road the last two weekends, sweeping Winnipeg before their tough series against the Bisons last week which saw them drop 3-1 and 3-2 decisions. As a squad, UBC ranks in the middle of the pack in every statistical category except digs, which sees them second. This middle of the road statistical output has seen them be competitive against the best in the country, losing in five sets to then no. 1 Alberta, but has not translated into wins.
On offence, right side
Demijan Savija paces the attack with 3.08 kills per game, however, he has been limited at times this year with injury. Starting left sides
Milo Warren, a transfer from VIU, and
Ben Chow, a rookie from Fleetwood Park Secondary, are getting better each week and they average 2.94 and 2.71 kills per set respectively. Under the direction of first-year setter
Ian Perry, who ranks fourth in the league in set assists (10.00), UBC's attack has been solid, hitting for .210.
Cary Brett anchors the UBC blocking effort with 1.16 per set, good enough for seventh in the conference while libero
Blair Bann anchors the defensive unit. Bann, the reigning CIS libero of the year, leads the league in digs (4.12) which is nearly one full dig ahead of his nearest competitor.
A look at the Huskies
Unlike the T-Birds, Saskatchewan sits in the lower quadrant of most key statistical categories. Most notably, they are allowing their opponents to hit for .276 while only converting at a rate of .161.
Matthew Busse leads the Huskies offence with 3.70 kills per set, ranking fourth in the league while Bryan Fraser is the second best option for Saskatchewan, as he averages 2.79 kills per set. Beyond that duo, the Huskies don't have any other players averaging more than 1.50 kills per set, however, middle Braden McLean is right on that number with a gaudy .447 hitting percentage. Saskatchewan has seen a pair of setters share the workload in Chris Gilbert and Adam McTavish each averaging around six assists per set.
Saskatchewan does a lot of blocking by committee as McLean ranks as their team leader with 0.57 per set. This lack of presence at the net has allowed their opponents a high number of quality swings and without a standout defensive player - Matthew Skotheim leads the team with 2.42 digs per set - Saskatchewan hasn't been able to slow down their opponents much this season.
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