VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds and Manitoba Bisons went the distance on day two of the Thunderball tournament, with the 'Birds coming out on top 3-2 (25-16, 25-27, 24-26, 25-19, 15-10) to earn a spot in Saturday's title game.
BOX SCORE
UBC had the momentum after a convincing win in the fourth set, and it seemed to show up on the court in the fifth as the 'Birds jumped out to an 8-3 lead, helped by a pair of
David Zeyha kills. He had four of his six kills in the fifth set.
The Manitoba blockers kept the visitors from falling too far behind, but they couldn't stop
Ben Chow from picking up his 13th kill on match point to seal the victory.
"That's a big win for us," said UBC head coach
Richard Schick. "We've had some tough games against Manitoba in the past and tonight was no different. I felt that we were playing well enough to win each set and we didn't in the end which was unfortunate, but to come out and finish the way we did in the fifth set after not doing it earlier, that's a very positive step forward."
Schick's squad is now 5-2 in preseason action, with this being their first win over a Canada West team. An impressive one at that, given the Bisons' No. 3 national ranking. But despite the stature of their opponent, Schick said his team is good enough to expect good results, even against quality opposition.
“They've got to realize that we're supposed to come through like we did today. We're supposed to do that. It was a nice win for our group for sure.”
Setter
Milan Nikic had an outstanding game for UBC, posting 61 assists and three service aces to guide the offence. His most efficient target was middle
Alex Russell, who put down 14 kills on .524 hitting to go with his nine blocks.
Quentin Schmidt had a team-high 14 kills and Chow had 13, but Schick emphasized the importance of his subs on Friday. Several players came off the bench to make a noticeable impact, including Zeyha, but some had key contributions in less obvious ways.
Noah Derksen only saw action late in the fourth set, but served the ball well and made two important digs to help his side force a fifth.
"He hadn't played all match, but he goes in there, makes a serve and makes a couple digs, and he's the reason why we win that set and get a chance to play the fifth," Schick said of his second-year hitter.
Evan Jackson led the Bisons with 16 kills . Joseph Brooks had 10 blocks in the middle for Manitoba. They take on Guelph on Saturday at 11 a.m. Those teams will meet again at 6 p.m. to play for Thunderball bronze.
The T-Birds will meet the other 2-0 team, Thompson Rivers, tomorrow at 12:30 for their round robin game. The same teams will meet in the finals at 7:30 p.m. to slug it out for gold. All games are at War Memorial Gym.
-30-
