REGINA, Sask. – The No. 5-ranked UBC Thunderbirds completed a weekend sweep with a straight-sets victory over the Regina Cougars in Canada West men's volleyball action at the Centre for Kinesiology, Health & Sport.
UBC took control with an 8-1 run midway through the first set and cruised to a 25-15 win in the opening frame. The Thunderbirds scored nine of the first 12 points of the second set and won 25-16 to take a 2-0 match lead, then pulled away from the host Cougars late in the third set to clinch the match with a 25-21 victory.
UBC (2-0) was dominant at the net, scoring a total of 12 points off blocks to Regina's four.
Yari Kozel and
Jarrid Ireland combined to do a large portion of the damage for the Thunderbirds, as Kozel led all players with eight total blocks and Ireland ended up with six.
David Zeyha had a team-leading 10 kills for UBC, while
Milan Nikic had 30 assists and
Ian Perry tied for the match lead with nine digs.
Alex Russell had seven kills and no errors on just nine attempts to end up with a sterling .778 hitting percentage.
Jamie Wilkins shouldered much of the offensive load for Regina, leading all players with 13 kills and hitting at a .385 clip. Third-year setter Caleb Eschbach played the whole match for the Cougars and had 32 assists, while Brody Waddell and Jacques Borgeaud tied Perry for the match lead with nine digs.
UBC will be back on the road again next weekend, as the Thunderbirds begin the Canada West schedule with four consecutive away matches. They'll take on UBC Okanagan next Friday and Saturday in Kelowna, B.C.
The Cougars (0-2) continue the Canada West schedule next weekend with a split home-and-home against Saskatchewan. The two teams will meet on Thursday night in Regina and finish off the series on Saturday in Saskatoon.
