VANCOUVER - Standout middle blocker
Jessica von Schilling saw her first game action since a knee injury sidelined her last season, and her top-ranked UBC Thunderbirds celebrated with a three-set win over the Saskatchewan Huskies (25-13, 25-19, 25-12) in their home opener on Friday.
With the T-Birds up 2-0 in the match and 14-7 in the third set, von Schilling received a warm welcome from the UBC faithful as she took to the court for the first time sine her injury. After the sides traded points, the third-year middle made her presence felt with her first kill of the season on what turned out to be her only swing of the night.
"She got a pretty good ovation to get back in there because she's worked incredibly hard on her rehab," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "That was just great to see her get back in."
Kyla Richey picked up two kills late in the third to push the T-Birds closer to the win, and Abigail Keeping sealed it with back to back aces to close the set.
Richey finished with a game-high 10 kills, and added two aces of her own. The T-Birds had 11 as a team, with
Mariah Bruinsma's three setting the mark to beat. She also had six kills on just nine attacks, and a game-high four block assists.
"Some of our players had good opportunities to serve the ball well, and we had some really good serving runs," said Reimer. "Some of our hitters had pretty good jump and pop as well.
Lisa Barclay to start, and Kyla later on especially."
Barclay finished second on the team with eight kills.
Aside from a slow start to the first set that saw UBC fall behind 5-0, the 'Birds were in the driver's seat for the entire match. They held the Huskies to a negative hitting percentage through the first two sets while hitting .333 themselves, but Reimer still saw room for improvement.
"Despite the scores, I don't think we played the first couple of sets with consistent execution," he said. "Based on their hitting efficiency, we should't be giving up that many points."
Candace Hueser led the Huskies with nine kills. Laura Beadle had three block assists and three kills in the middle, and Kayla Tycholiz had four kills and four aces.
The win sees UBC stay unbeaten at 5-0, while the Huskies are still searching for a win at 0-7. The two sides will have to be ready for a quick turnaround now, as they clash again tomorrow at 12 p.m. to wrap up the weekend series.
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