CALGARY - The no. 1 ranked UBC Thunderbirds fell victim to the no. 8 Calgary Dinos in a five set thriller on Saturday night, dropping their first match since the opening weekend of the 2010-11 season. Set scores were 11-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23, and 16-14 in favour of the host Dinos.
“Despite the loss I think it was a match better match this evening. Clearly we're not showing the consistency that we had before the break and we need a little bit of work to reset things with adding Jen and Kyla back into the rotation,” said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer.
Last night, the T-Birds were able to overcome a litany of errors en route to a 3-2 victory but they couldn't pick up the weekend sweep despite having their chances late in the match.
With UBC leading 12-10 in the fifth and deciding set, the Dinos went on a 4-1 run that was capped off by a pair of Sarah Moncks kills taking the match to set point.
Jessica von Schilling earned a kill to tie the match but a UBC error followed by a kill from Lindsey Doland sealed the upset bid.
The T-Birds had a chance in the fourth set to end the match as well. Calgary led for most of the fourth frame before a 5-0 run from the 'Birds put the visitors in front 22-20. UBC couldn't close out the set, however, as the Dinos responded with a 5-1 run to setup the do or die fifth.
“We had our chances tonight and I thought our level of compete was very high. Down the stretch our defence and passing kind of escaped us but we'll learn from this weekend and get better as we prepare for the rest of the season and playoffs,” added Reimer.
Following the loss, UBC drops to 9-3 on the season while Calgary improves to 6-4.
Kyla Richey and
Shanice Marcelle paced the T-Bird attack with 15 and 11 kills apiece. Doland and Lindsay Russell led the Dinos with 13 kills with Moncks chipping in 10.
The T-Birds took control early in the opening set and led 8-5 after a
Rayel Quiring kill took the match to its first technical timeout. UBC continued to carry the play and used a series of runs to easily take the first frame.
Calgary responded with a more spirited effort in the second and led 14-10 before UBC slowly chipped away at the deficit. The 'Birds eventually tied the set at 21-21, however, a 4-1 run Dino run that included three kills gave the hosts life.
The third set was back and forth early with UBC leading 8-7 at the first technical timeout. The 'Birds promptly took control of the frame thanks to a 6-0 run and Calgary never closed the deficit to less than three the rest of the set.
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