VANCOUVER - The No. 6 UBC Thunderbirds men's volleyball team completed a sweep of visiting Saskatchewan by beating the Huskies in four sets (25-17, 25-20, 19-25 and 25-14) on Saturday afternoon at War Memorial Gymnasium.
Robert Bennett knocked down 15 kills and recorded 14 digs to lead UBC while Matthew Busse had 15 kills for Saskatchewan.
"We knew it wasn't going to be easy and we knew we were going to see a lot of different guys in lineup situations and overall I think last night we started slow and finished strong," said UBC head coach
Richard Schick. "Today we started well and then we had a bit of a gap in-between there. I still think the way that we finished and the way that we refocused was good. I think we played a desperate volleyball team and we played desperate volleyball too."
UBC comfortably won the first game, holding a cushion of at least five points over the Huskies the entire way after building an early 10-5 advantage.
In the second set, the Thunderbirds staved off a late Huskies comeback. UBC was up 21-15 but Saskatchewan rallied for four straight points to close to within two but the home team won the next four of five to take the set.
Saskatchewan continued to play tough in the third set, building a slim lead after the two teams were knotted at seven points a piece and holding onto the advantage throughout the set, eventually winning 25-19.
But UBC was able to rebound in the fourth set, ending it on a 18-7 run after the two teams were tied at seven points a piece.
David Zeyha and
Yari Kozel added ten kills each while
Ian Perry dug up 17 balls for UBC in support of Bennett, who was praised by coach Schick.
"Robert (Bennett) has done a really good job," said Schick. "He has come in, and there is a lot of expectation and I think he probably put too much pressure on himself as he is in his final year. But he just takes it a game at a time, a shot at a time, and a pass at a time. I thought he did really well passing today."
UBC improves to 5-1 on the year and will host Calgary next weekend. Saskatchewan drops to 1-7 and will get a bye next weekend.
