Langley, BC
- One night after defeating #1 Trinity Western in straight sets, the #2 UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball team lost 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-17) Saturday night at the Langley Events Centre.
"It was a frustrating 24-hour switch from playing with a lot of poise and solid execution and we were definitely not strong in those two areas today," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer.
"Trinity Western improved in a lot of areas and we didn't match that at all. They did a nice job of being very consistent. They didn't make a lot of hitting errors. We made a number and they got us a little bit off balance. I'm probably most disappointed we missed a good opportunity to really compete well tonight because we got a little bit out of sync and a little bit frustrated."
The Thunderbirds looked strong in the first set as they took it in decisive fashion but after that, it was all TWU as the Spartans went on to hit .239 compared to UBC's .097. For UBC, it was
Lisa Barclay (Brandon, MB), with 13 kills, 10 digs and two aces, leading the way while
Shanice Marcelle (Victoria, BC) had 12 kills and 10 digs. Libero
Briana Liau Kent (Vancouver, BC) had a team-high 17 digs while setter
Brina Derksen-Bergen (Abbotsford, BC) added 30 assists.
Both sides are now 1-1 on the season after splitting the home-and-home series.
The Spartans were led by an all-around effort from Kelci French (Okotoks, Alta.) that saw her collect 31 assists, five kills, 17 digs, three blocks and two aces, while Amy Ott (East Selkirk, Man.) had 14 kills to go along with three blocks and Royal Richardson (Rocky Mountain House, Alta.) had 13 kills, three aces and two blocks. Libero Kristen Moncks, who transferred from Medicine Hat College this year, had 16 digs in her home debut with TWU.
After a back-and-forth start to the first set, the Thunderbirds took over with the score 17-17. At that point, having led for much of the set but never pulling away, UBC went on a 3-0 run to turn the set in its favour for good. From there, the Thunderbirds never led by less than two and, with a block from
Mariah Bruinsma (Chilliwack, BC), earned a five-point win.
In the second start, the Spartans broke through to win their first set of the season. With the set tied 14-14, TWU went on a 7-1 run, largely led by the hard-serving and hitting of French, to open a 21-15 lead. The Spartans then cruised to an eight-point win, capped by serving substitute Lauren Moncks earning the winning point with an ace. After hitting .088 in the first set, the Spartans hit .375 in the second set compared to UBC's .219.
With momentum from the Spartans second set run, TWU was dominant in the early stages of the third. With the score 3-2 for the home side, the Spartans went on a 7-0 run, with six points coming with Richardson at serving, that ultimately turned the set TWU's way. UBC made a push in the middle stages, but four points was as close as it would get. A Nicole Bazin (Winnipeg) block gave the Spartans the win at 25-19. In the set, the Spartans held UBC to a .021 hitting percentage while hitting .233 themselves.
Much like the third set, the Spartans came out of the gates flying in the fourth, as they raced to a 9-3 advantage, which was capped by a monster kill off the left side from Richardson. After that, UBC got to within four points once, at 10-6, but never closer and the Spartans rolled to another eight-point win. Fittingly, given French's impressive showing throughout the match, the winning point came on a diving dig from the Spartans setter that popped over the net and landed on the T-Birds side for the kill.
The Thunderbirds are back in action next weekend when they take on the Alberta Pandas November 2-3 at War Memorial Gym.
"We will regroup and be ready for the Alberta Pandas, who will be another strong test for us next week," said Reimer.
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