VANCOUVER - The No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds face a tough test at War Memorial this weekend in the fifth-ranked Manitoba Bisons. Winners of six of their last seven, the Bisons are just two games behind the T-Birds for first in Canada West and will put the four-time defending national champs to the test this Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 5 p.m.
Both games will be streamed live on
CanadaWest.tv
GAME TIMES
Fri., Jan. 20 - No. 5 Manitoba at No. 1 UBC (6 p.m. at War Memorial Gymnasium, Vancouver)
Sat., Jan. 21 - No. 5 Manitoba at No. 1 UBC (5 p.m. at War Memorial Gymnasium, Vancouver)
No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds
2011-12 conference record: 11-1 (1st)
2011-12 CIS ranking: 1
Last week: beat Thompson Rivers 3-0, 3-0
Streak: 3 wins
The top-ranked T-Birds showed no signs of slowing down in 2012, beginning the year with back to back 3-0 wins over Thompson Rivers last week.
Kyla Richey turned in a dominant performance in game one with 12 kills and eight blocks, and a well-balanced team attack saw the T-Birds cruise in game two on the strength of .354 hitting.
UBC continues to lead the league in both offensive and defensive efficiency by wide margins. Richey averages 3.32 kills per game, but with
Lisa Barclay and
Shanice Marcelle also capable of huge numbers on any given night, opposing defences have had to pick their poison and hope for the best against the T-Bird attack this year.
Setter
Brina Derksen-Bergen is averaging nine assists per game and has also been a major asset to the blocking effort. She is one of four T-Birds averaging more than a block per game, along with
Abbey Keeping,
Jessica von Schilling and
Mariah Bruinsma.
No. 5 Manitoba Bisons
2011-12 conference record: 9-3 (3rd)
2011-12 CIS ranking: 5
Last week: beat Regina 3-0, 3-0
Streak: 2 wins
The Bisons are also coming off a pair of 3-0 sweeps, having cruised past Regina last weekend. They are behind only UBC in offensive efficiency, hitting .213 for the year.
Kristi Hunter leads the team and the conference with 3.45 kills per game, while Tricia Mayba provides a great offensive option up the middle for the Bison offence with 2.98 kills per game on .326 hitting.
The Bisons also have a formidable blocker to go toe-to-toe with UBC's group. Jordana Milne leads the conference with 1.39 blocks per game after her big weekend against Regina in which she posted five blocks in each match. Mayba and Hunter both average just under a block per game.
Christina Souza averages 9.48 assists per game and just under three digs. Libero Nicole Hall is among league leaders with better than four digs per match, and the Bisons lead the league in digs as a team, so the high-powered UBC offence will be put to the test this weekend.
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