VANCOUVER – The No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds men's volleyball team broke four-match losing streak by sweeping the No. 10 Winnipeg Wesmen in straight sets on the road.
The scores were: 25-21, 25-21, 25-18.
"A much better effort tonight in all aspects of the game," said UBC head coach
Richard Schick. "Nice to see the guys respond after a non-showing last night. We have to continue to demand more from each other which I feel the guys did tonight."
The Thunderbirds clinched the win in the third set by taking nine of the last 11 points in the match.
David Zeyha (2nd, Grande Prairie, AB) provided three of those points with kills while the last four points came with setter
Milan Nikic (1st, Calgary, AB) serving.
A night after getting swept, UBC was able to put together big runs at pivotal points to gain control in each set.
The T-Birds were down 9-6 in the middle frame, when a Zeyha kill ignited a 9-1 run that turned the set in UBC's favour.
It was 9-1 run that also helped UBC take the opening set against the Wesmen, who provided all sorts of free gifts.
Down 14-11, the Thunderbirds turned the tide by watching Winnipeg commit six attacking errors, a service error and a bad set over the next ten points. The only point UBC gained in the run that wasn't a mistake was from a
Robert Bennett (5th, Vancouver, BC) kill, one of his 12 in the game. Zeyha also had 12 to tie for the team lead.
Bennett was excellent for UBC, ending the match with a .400 attack percentage.
Jarrid Ireland (1st, Winnipeg, MB) chipped in with 11 kills for the Thunderbirds, while
Ian Perry (2nd, Abbotsford, BC) had a team-high 22 digs.
Nathaniel Therrien and Ty Loewen each recorded eight kills to lead Winnipeg.
With the win, UBC improves to 9-7, while Winnipeg drops to 7-11.
The Thunderbirds will host their final home series of the regular season next weekend against Brandon at War Memorial Gymnasium. Both teams, along with Calgary are tied for fourth in the Canada West conference standings.
Winnipeg will close out the season with two games against provincial rivals, Manitoba.
-30-
