VANCOUVER - The no. 1 ranked UBC Thunderbirds (20-0) completed a perfect regular season on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Simon Fraser University Clan 3-0 (25-25, 25-7, 25-18) for their 20th straight victory of the campaign.
The two-time defending CIS champions were in fine form in their regular season finale, using their potent attack and devastating block to subdue the Clan in the final CIS meeting between these two schools. SFU is moving to the NCAA Division II next season.
With the sweep, the T-Birds also preserved their unblemished home record as they won 10 straight at home without dropping a set.
Despite the dominance this season and the top seed in the conference, UBC will be on the road for the playoffs due to scheduling conflicts with the 2010 Olympic Winter Games.
As the first-place team in the Canada West, UBC receives a bye straight through to the CW Final Four. With that tournament scheduled for February 26-27, the Canada West decided to award the hosting rights to the highest ranked team outside of Vancouver (UBC, TWU, and SFU were all removed as possible host sites) and not the top overall seed.
UBC head coach
Doug Reimer recognizes going on the road will provide more of a challenge but he is confident in his team's ability.
"Trying to maintain our focus during the Olympics will be tough but the adversity of going on the road for the Final Four is something that maybe we can utilize as a positive thing as we try to achieve our goals this season," noted Reimer. "What we have to rely on over the next two weeks is the depth of our team and the competitiveness that it creates in our practices. Rarely do you get a 10-day training camp in the middle of the season but that is kind of how we have to treat this break."
Due to the scheduling change surrounding the CW Final Four, fifth-years
Katie Tyzuk and
Liz Cordonier and fourth-year
Claire Hanna were all suiting up in the final home game of their outstanding UBC careers.
Tyzuk directed the UBC offence to one of their finest performances of the season as they tallied 46 kills on .458 hitting, making just eight errors in the match. Cordonier was solid on both sides of the nets, notching 10 kills (.450 hitting), a team-high 11 digs, and two block assists. Hanna tallied six digs from her libero position and led a UBC defensive effort that stymied the Clan all afternoon.
The T-Birds notched seven total blocks and held the Clan to just .159 hitting and 28 kills.
"Each of those players are unique individuals who made huge contributions to the UBC program," said Reimer. "Those five-year careers go by so fast but it is rewarding as a coach to see the development of those players as teammates and individuals."
It was even early on in the first set, but the T-Birds broke open the frame with a four-point run to take an 11-5 lead. They cemented their advantage with another four point run to make it 17-8, thanks to a pair of kills from
Shanice Marcelle who led UBC with 14 kills on the day, and closed the set on a 5-1 run.
UBC carried over their momentum from the first set into the second, jumping out to what appeared to be an insurmountable 14-6 lead. The Clan, however, responded with some inspired play and narrowed the gap to 17-14 on a pair of errors from UBC. That was as close as the visitors got, as a another 5-1 closed out the set for UBC.
The Clan grabbed their first lead of the game early in the third set, taking a 4-2 advantage thanks in part to three UBC miscues. They kept pace with the hosts through the early going, but UBC finally took control with a 10-2 run that set them up for the sweep.
Colleen Douville led the Clan with eight kills and Sarah McNeil had one solo and two block assists on the afternoon.
Jen Hinze added 11 kils on 14 attacks (.714 hitting) for the T-Birds while rookie
Jessica von Schilling led the defensive effort at the net with four block assists.
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