VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds booked their trip to next week's CIS national championship tournament in Laval with a 3-0 win (25-13, 26-24, 25-15) over the Manitoba Bisons in Friday's Canada West semifinal at War Memorial Gym.
After cruising through the first set on the strength of lights-out attacking from newly-crowned Canada West MVP
Shanice Marcelle and
Kyla Richey, the T-Birds ran into some trouble in the second set.
Kate Wasyliw led the Bisons on a 6-0 run to vault them into a 14-10 lead, and they continued to lead the 'Birds by about a four-point cushion until late in the set. A
Lisa Barclay kill cut the score to 22-19, and then back-to-back Manitoba mistakes (a net error and a two-hit error) brought the home side to within one, igniting the crowd.
After Barclay tied the set up with another kill, Wasyliw scored two straight for the Bisons to put them up 24-22. Marcelle and Barclay answered on the next two points to again tie the set up, and a
Mariah Bruinsma ace put UBC up 25-24. That set the table for Richey to come flying out of the back row on match point to find open court with a clever tip, completing the Thunderbird comeback.
"That was without question the turning point in the match," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "It doesn't matter what the score is in the first set - if it's one all, it's one all, and that's the nature of the sport. I thought we showed a lot of composure down the stretch there in the second set."
The second set win reenergized the T-Birds, and they made short work of the Bisons in the third set to punch their tickets to the Canada West finals and the CIS tournament.
Marcelle showed why she was the conference's most valuable player on Friday, racking up 12 kills on .440 hitting to go along with a game-high four aces.
"She's as good an all-around skill player as I can recall here at UBC, in every aspect of the game," Reimer said of his third-year outside hitter. "She showed that again tonight. She anchors our play in all regards."
Richey led the way with 14 kills and an unbelievable .565 hitting percentage. She also had seven digs and three block-assists. The Thunderbirds hit .405 as a team while holding the Bisons to a .146 hitting percentage.
Rachel Cockrell led Manitoba with eight kills. Kristi Hunter had six and Tricia Mayba chipped in five.
The Bisons now face a crucial test in the Canada West bronze medal game tomorrow against Alberta. The winner will earn the conference's third and final CIS tournament berth, and with no at-large bids up for grabs, the loser's season will be over. They will clash at War Memorial Gym beginning at 3:30 p.m.
The T-Birds will take on the Trinity Western Spartans in the gold medal game at 5:30 p.m. Both teams are already assured a spot at nationals, but if a shot at the Canada West title doesn't get UBC fired up, revenge for the Spartans breaking their 40-game win streak at the beginning of the season should do the trick.
"We've had great battles with Trinity over the years and many of our players have played on the same club teams," Reimer said. "Motivation won't be a problem."
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