VANCOUVER - Again the UBC Thunderbirds gave the nation's top team a scare, but again the Alberta Golden Bears survived. After falling behind 2-0 on Saturday night, the Bears came back to take a five-set thriller (19-25, 21-25, 27-25, 25-22, 15-12) at War Memorial Gym.
The T-Birds looked nothing like the young inexperienced side they were supposed to be against the veteran Bears this weekend, winning the first set on Friday and the first two on Saturday. Even after a heartbreaking loss in the third set and another in the fourth to extend the game even further, UBC still had plenty of fight left as Alberta began to build yet another lead in the fifth.
The Bears went up 3-0 before
Joe Cordonier led his team back to a 6-6 tie with two kills and an ace. The Bears immediately regained the lead but were never able to pull very far away, as Cordonier continued to will his side back into the match. He finished with eight kills in the frame, but it wasn't quite enough, as the sides traded point-for-point down the stretch, eventually giving Alberta a very well-earned victory.
"We talked about getting better every game this year and we wanted to take the next step tonight," said UBC head coach
Richard Schick. "We almost did in terms of getting a result, but we definitely did in the heart that we showed."
The T-Bird attack was hot through the first two sets, when they hit .280 and .304 as a team respectively. That was enough to get them a surprising 2-0 lead against the No. 1 Bears, but Alberta got things together in the third and held UBC under .200 for the rest of the match.
The T-Birds were dangerously close to a 3-0 sweep after coming back to tie the third set at 23, and then taking a one-point lead on a huge block by
Cary Brett. But the Bears were undaunted by the home side's momentum and energy, as they were able to outlast the 'Birds and win the set with a block of their own a few points later.
"We competed the whole night," said Schick. "There was never a time that we were out of it, no matter how many points we were down. We had that belief in ourselves which was good to see."
Despite the loss, the 'Birds had plenty of bright spots on their young roster. None brighter than rookie outside hitter
Ben Chow, who led all players with 18 kills on .361 hitting, and was second on the team with 11 digs.
"We know that Ben has that ability in him and we talked about wanting to see guys apply what we work on throughout the week during the games, and he was one of the guys who really took that to heart," said Schick. "He's a young guy who is learning a lot of new stuff and really grasping the opportunity."
Setter
Ian Perry, another rookie, set a very solid CIS single-game assists mark for himself with 50 on the night. Not to be outdone by the youngsters, fifth-year libero
Blair Bann had his usual All-Canadian-calibre showing with 21 digs in the game - nine more than any other player on the court.
Spencer Leiske led the Bears with 17 kills. Jay Olmstead had 12 on .308 hitting, and Justin Merta was even more efficient, with 10 kills on .364 hitting. Merta was also a monster at the net, with seven block assists and one solo block.
The T-Birds fall to 0-4 after playing the No. 3 and No. 1-ranked teams to start the year. They will be in search of their first win on the road next week against the also-winless Winnipeg Wesmen. Alberta moves to 2-0, and will look to stay hot against another 2-0 team when they host No. 4 Brandon next week.
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