VANCOUVEr - The UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball team is in Calgary this weekend to finish off a four-game road swing against the Dinos. The 'Birds are coming in hot, having lost just one set in their last four matches, but the unranked Dinos are making some noise lately as well, coming off a sweep that bumped their record up to .500.
Both games will be streamed with live statistics on
CanadaWest.tv.
GAME TIMES
Friday, Nov. 16 - No. 2 UBC at Calgary (6:30 p.m. at Jack Simpson Gym, Calgary)
Saturday, Nov. 17 - No. 2 UBC at Calgary (4 p.m. at Jack Simpson Gym, Calgary)
No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (5-1)
Last Week: W 3-0, W 3-0 at Saskatchewan
The T-Birds fully expected to beat the struggling Saskatchewan Huskies last weekend, but the completely dominant performance the defending champs put on was at least little eyebrow-raising.
Hitting .455 is usually something that happens when a middle blocker has a great night offensively, but the 'Birds hit that as a team in game one, while holding the Huskies to .045 hitting as a team. All they did to follow that up was hold the Huskies to a negative hitting percentage while they hit .400+ once again. This time it was .415 to -.068, with Saskatchewan managing just 12 kills in the entire match.
They can't expect things to go that way every night, but that performance certainly will serve as a reminder both to the 'Birds themselves and to their opponents of just how good they can be in all aspects of the game.
The season stats tell the same story. UBC has held opponents under .100 hitting on average, and they are second in conference blocking with 2.50 per set. Offensively they have so many options that no one player is running away with any statistical categories, but the 'Birds have three players averaging at least two kills and hitting over .200.
Lisa Barclay leads the pack with 3.40 kills per set. She's a strong contributor defensively as well, averaging 2.35 digs.
Shanice Marcelle is second with 2.95 kills per set, but her consistency in playing mistake-free volleyball has been truly impressive for a high-volume outside hitter. She has just 12 errors this season in 180 attacks, and she is a fantastic two-way player as well, averaging 2.45 digs.
Rosie Schlagintweit is the third 'Bird averaging a little over two kills per set. She is also a big help in the block, picking up almost one per set as an outside hitter.
Calgary Dinos (3-3)
Last Week: W 3-1, W 3-2 vs Winnipeg
Sweeping a winless team isn't exactly the kind of thing you write home to your parents about, but it got the Dinos back to .500 and gives them a chance to finish the first half of the season in position to contend for a playoff spot.
They still have work to do to make that happen though, as four of their six games before the break come against CIS ranked teams, starting with the T-Birds this week. The Dinos haven't looked out of place against tough competition this year by any means, as they took the sixth-ranked Manitoba Bisons to five sets in their early-season match, but the T-Birds will be their toughest test to date.
One thing the Dinos can say they do better than UBC is blocking, on paper at least. They are the only team averaging more blocks per set than UBC, with 2.69 per set so far. Courtney Dawson and Angelica Quiring are second and third in the conference, averaging 1.38 and 1.19 blocks per set respectively.
Dawson is also a major offensive source for the Dinos, averaging 2.85 kills on .386 hitting out of the middle. Their offensive hitters haven't been so efficient, with most of them hitting well below .200, so the 'Birds can expect to get a heavy dose of Calgary's talented sophomore middle.
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