VANCOUVER - The top-ranked UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball team kicks off the second half of the conference schedule at home this weekend with two matches against the Thompson Rivers WolfPack. The T-Birds clash with the 'Pack on Friday, January 13 at 6 p.m., followed by the rematch on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Both games will be webcast on
CanadaWest.tv
GAME TIMES
Fri., Jan. 13 - TRU at No. 1 UBC (6 p.m. at War Memorial Gymnasium, Vancouver)
Sat., Jan 14 - TRU at No. 1 UBC (5 p.m. at War Memorial Gymnasium, Vancouver)
No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds
2011 conference record: 9-1 (1st)
2011 CIS ranking: 1
Last week: beat Laval 3-2 in exhibition play
Streak: 1 win
For most teams, a five-set loss on the road against powerhouse Alberta would be a match to be proud of, but for
Doug Reimer's T-Birds, it represented the only blemish on their record so far this year. But after dropping the first set against Alberta in their rematch the next day, the T-Birds turned it on in a big way, winning the next three sets by scores of 25-18, 25-17 and 25-16 to cruise to a win in their last match before the break.
It was the youngsters' time to shine in that match too, with second-years Abigail Keeping and
Rosie Schlagintweit leading the way. Schagintweit led the team with 11 kills on .320 hitting while Keeping chipped in 10 kills while hitting a whopping .444, adding five block assists.
The T-Birds head into the second half of their schedule dominating most of the conference statistics. They have comfortable cushions as the Canada West's best offense, hitting .238 for the year, and best defence, holding opponents to .116 hitting. UBC also leads the conference in blocking, averaging almost three per set.
All-Canadian and national team representative
Kyla Richey is second in the league kills leaderboard with 3.39 per game. She is also among hitting percentage leaders at .248, and has been helping her middles out with close to a block per set this season. Her sophomore colleague,
Lisa Barclay, is also having a fantastic year at outside hitter, averaging 2.89 kills on .251 hitting. Reigning CIS MVP
Shanice Marcelle was slowed somewhat by injury in the first half, but still managed to chip in more than two kills per game and should be poised for a huge second half.
Thompson Rivers WolfPack
2011 conference record: 4-8 (8th)
2011 CIS ranking: -
Last week: off
Streak: 1 loss
The Wolfpack went 1-5 to end the first half after a promising start, but are still very much in the playoff race with three series against losing opponents to look forward to after running the gauntlet against the four-time defending national champs this weekend.
The first half of the season was a struggle for the 'Pack on both sides of the ball. Defensively, they have the second-worst opponent hitting percentage in Canada West, partially due to their lack of intimidators at the net. Katarina Osadchuk leads the team with just over a block per game, but after her the Wolfpack are without any major blockers in their primary rotation.
Osadchuck also leads the way offensively with 2.24 kills per game, highlighting another problem that has plagued the squad this year - the lack of a dangerous outside hitter. Kelly Asleson is their main threat outside, averaging 2.17 kills on .213 hitting, but they will struggle to match up against the wealth of offensive options the T-Birds will offer up this weekend.
Freshman libero Sara Petterson has been one of the bright spots for the 'Pack, as she averages more than four digs per game - good for fourth in the conference - so far in her first year of CIS competition.
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