With files from U of Calgary sports information
CALGARY – The UBC Thunderbirds pushed the Calgary Dinos to the limit in the first and third sets on Thursday, but the Dinos got the best of the 'Birds at key moments en route to a 3-0 win (26-24, 25-16, 25-22) in game one of the Canada West quarterfinals.
The three-set victory was in sharp contrast to the weekend battle between the Dinos and Birds back in January, where the teams endured two consecutive five-set marathons, both favouring the Dinos in the end. UBC had a remarkable eight matches go the distance to five sets during the 2011 season. Thursday's tilt was closer than the 3-0 scoreline indicated though, as the Dinos overcame numerous Thunderbird rallies, especially in the first and third set, to take the quarterfinal opener.
"We definitely had our chances in the first and third sets," said UBC head coach
Richard Schick. "In the second set our serve receive fell apart and when that happens it makes it difficult for our setter to run an offence, and it took some of our other guys out of their routine and flow attacking."
Calgary connected on 35 per cent of their kill opportunities to just 20 per cent for UBC, and had five and a half more team blocks than their counterparts. The hitting percentages were actually very close between the teams in the first and third sets, but Calgary hit over 58 per cent in the lopsided second set, while the 'Birds hit under eight per cent in the frame.
All three games had a back-and-forth feel up until around the second technical timeouts, at which time Calgary tended to pick up momentum. In the first set UBC successfully battled back to 24-24, and in the third they took the lead at 22-21, but each time their undoing came with unforced errors. A missed
Ben Chow serve and a UBC attacking error put the first set to rest following the late tie, while a late missed serve from
Ryan Zwarich in the third set gave Calgary a 24-22 lead they wouldn’t surrender.
"We have to execute quite a bit better tomorrow to establish success," said Schick. "We didnt serve as aggressive as we would have liked to and didnt put their serve receivers in as tough a position as they put ours."
The Dinos were led by Graham Vigrass, who doubled the next closest competitor on the floor with 16 kills to go with four blocks. Curtis James and Allen Meek each had eight kills, with Meek ending the second and third sets with a kill and a block respectively.
Libero
Blair Bann was everywhere for the Birds on Thursday, hustling everywhere for eight digs, a total barely indicative of his overall impact.
Joe Cordonier led the Birds with seven kills, while
Cary Brett had three blocks. Chow had six kills in his first CIS playoff match.
The Dinos and T-Birds will tangle again for game two of the quarterfinal series on Friday, with game three scheduled for Saturday if necessary. Both games will go at 3 p.m.
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