VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds moved into top spot in the Canada West standings after their 3-0 win (25-20, 25-14, 25-21) against the Regina Cougars on Saturday night at War Memorial Gym.
UBC's All-Canadians were playing up to their billing on Saturday, as
Kyla Richey led all players with 17 kills on .467 hitting, and
Jen Hinze had a game-high six blocks to go with four kills on just 10 attacks.
The Cougars threatened to break up the sweep in the third set, taking a 7-4 lead early on as the T-Birds fell out of rhythm. But Richey got her side back on track with three straight points, picking up two kills and an ace to get momentum back on UBC's side.
"She's obviously getting more comfortable because she had very few errors and a high kill efficiency," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "At times you need that because there wasn't that much flow to the match, but then to have left side players that can just keep banging away is a really good thing."
Richey and Hinze teamed up on three blocks late in the third set to give the T-Birds some breathing room. The UBC block turned out to be the difference in the frame, as the 'Birds picked up seven of their 11 blocks in the final set.
Shanice Marcelle wrapped up the match with two straight kills. She finished with 10 on the night.
The T-Birds outhit the Cougars .294 to .047 on the night. Meagan Onstad led the Cougars with 10 kills. Rebecca Rink chipped in five kills and nine digs.
The win boosts the T-Birds' record to 13-3, pulling them even with Trinity Western, who lost to Brandon on Saturday. Trinity swept their two-game series with UBC to begin the year, but the T-Birds hold the tiebreaker based on their ratio of sets won to sets lost. UBC has won 43 and lost 17 for a +26 margin, while Trinity is +23 with 43 wins to 20 losses.
"Frankly I'm not that worried about the standings because I've seen it work both ways where it's helpful to be at home and get the first-round bye, and other times when it's not, so we will just take care of ourselves and keep playing good volleyball," Reimer said. "When the worst case scenario is we finish second in a tough conference like this, that's not so bad."
Whoever finishes first will get a first-round bye and host the Canada West Final Four. Both sides have two matches remaining, as the 'Birds will take on 2-14 Thompson Rivers next week, while Trinity Western takes on a tough 10-6 Manitoba squad on the road.
The conference playoffs get underway on the weekend of February 19, with the Final Four going down on the weekend of February 26.
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