CALGARY - Facing a familiar foe, the the no. 1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds were buoyed by some familiar faces as they fought back and then held off the no. 8-ranked Calgary Dinos in a wild 3-2 win Friday night at Jack Simpson Gym.
The T-Birds (9-2) began 2011 by welcoming back Canadian National Team members
Kyla Richey and
Jen Hinze. Their presence paid dividends in a rematch of the 2009 CIS National Championship game with UBC eventually downing the Dinos by set scores of (29-31, 26-24, 25-19, 21-25, 17-15).
"There were certainly a litany of errors tonight and it looked like the first weekend back from the break," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "Obviously we're happy to emerge with the win but we have a lot to work to do. We especially need to reduce our errors from the serving line and attacking."
UBC struggled to find chemistry in the early going committing 13 errors en route to a 31-29 first set loss. The 'Birds bounced back, claiming the next two sets before Calgary responded to even the match at two sets apiece setting up a winner-take-all fifth set.
After falling into an early of 6-2 hole in the final frame, Richey ran off three of her match-high 17 kills pulling the visitors ahead 11-10. The pesky Dinos would not go away, answering with a 4-1 run that gave the hosts two match points. A
Rayel Quiring kill and a Calgary error staved off the loss before Richey put the 'Birds back in front 15-14 with her third ace of the contest. Calgary tied it at 15-15 on the ensuing side-out but ran out of gas as a
Shanice Marcelle kill and another Calgary error sealed the set and the match for UBC.
Hinze was solid in her return to the T-Birds line-up picking up six block and nine kills.
Calgary relied on runs throughout the night including a 5-1 streak followed by a Lindsey Doland kill that pushed the match to a final game. In that fourth set, it was Lindsay Russell who ignited the Dinos' response as she collected three straight kills to kick-off a 6-2 Calgary run with the Dinos trailing midway through the set. Doland and Russell led the Dinos with 14 kills apiece.
The T-Birds were streaky on this night as well, using a run of their own to take the third set and a 2-1 advantage. An injury to Calgary's Laura Wilson left the home side flat and UBC took advantage as
Mariah Bruinsma's skillfully served two aces as UBC closed on a 6-0 run to win 25-19.
"Mariah made a big difference in the match and her contribution really helped us a lot tonight," added Reimer.
These two teams square off again on Saturday night. Start time is set for 5:00 p.m. PST at Jack Simpson Gym.
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