VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds couldn't have made their third straight Canada West championship victory any more dramatic if they tried, coming from behind 2-1 in the match and overcoming large deficits in the fourth and fifth sets to down the Trinity Western Spartans 3-2 (25-22, 21-25, 18-25, 25-21, 17-15) on Saturday at War Memorial Gym.
The T-Birds looked to be in trouble early in the fifth set, trailing 8-4 before Canada West MVP
Shanice Marcelle led them on a 9-2 run with four kills. That gave UBC a short-lived lead, which was erased when Kara Jansen Van Doorn picked up her 16th kill of the match to level the score at 14. After the teams traded points to make it 15-15, Marcelle finished what she started with two straight aces to keep the Canada West title at UBC.
Although both teams had already qualified for nationals, UBC head coach
Doug Reimer knew his team would need no help getting fired up to play the rival Spartans.
"Before the match you're thinking 'well, it's for seeding [at nationals], and in a way you're already there,' but you could see the emotion going on out there, and being able to push through like that is worth tons of hours of training," Reimer said.
While Marcelle was in charge of the fifth set, rookie
Lisa Barclay deserves much of the credit for getting the T-Birds that far. In easily the biggest game of her young CIS career, Barclay was instrumental in helping UBC come from behind in the fourth set to force a fifth. She picked up eight of her 13 kills in the frame, and added two blocks.
"We have confidence in her obviously and I just thought we needed something a little different there," said Reimer. "She's obviously going to be an incredibly good player, and she came in in a pressure situation and really delivered."
After a strong showing in the first set, in which UBC posted a .324 team hitting percentage, the 'Birds fell into an uncharacteristic error-filled slump in the second and third sets. They were held below .100 hitting in both frames and totaled 21 errors during that stretch.
A big part of the turnaround was UBC's block coming on strong in the fourth to slow down the Spartans attack.
Jen Hinze shouldered most of the load, picking up three block-assists and one key solo block late in the frame.
Kyla Richey finished with a game-high 19 kills. Marcelle had 12 kills, 22 digs and six aces.
Jansen Van Doorn led the way for Trinity Western with 16 kills. Nicole Bazin was a key part of their impressive blocking effort, picking up seven block assists on the Spartans' 11 team blocks.
The T-Birds now set their sights on the CIS tournament next weekend in Laval, where they will be looking for their fourth-straight national championship.
"A lot of these players have a taste of a national championship, and once you have a taste you want more. I think we built some confidence here tonight," said Reimer.
Trinity Western and conference bronze-medalists Alberta will also represent Canada West at the CIS tournament.
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