CALGARY – Using an overwhelming team attack this time around, the UBC Thunderbirds achieved similar results against the Calgary Dinos, winning the match 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-20) and sweeping the weekend series.
BOX SCORE
"While it was not as smooth as we might have hoped, we maintained our consistency to earn a second straight 3-0 win," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "The key skill for us was our ability to put together some strong performances from the serving line.
Alissa Coulter and
Abbey Keeping were key in that regard."
The Dinos once again did their best to stay in the match with the no. 2 ranked Thunderbirds, but simply couldn't keep up with the powerful UBC attack. Lindsay Doland showed her power at the net one more time, contributing 11 kills, while Courtney Dawson notched nine kills, two blocks and an ace. Jordhynn Guy paced the Dinos from the setter position, dishing out 20 assists to go along with four kills.
While
Shanice Marcelle and
Lisa Barclay once again led the Birds in offence with 10 kills each, it was the contributions from
Alissa Coulter (seven kills), Abigail Keeping and
Jessica von Schilling (six kills each) that really helped overpower the Dinos from start to finish. The Thunderbirds hammered 30% of their kills and a remarkable 12 service aces at the Dinos, compared to 21% and 4 aces for Calgary.
"While our left sides were not as dominating tonight, we got some good balance in our offence and I thought Brina made good choices and decisions," commented Reimer.
With their sights on getting even with the visiting T-Birds, the Dinos did come hard out of the gate in the first set, forcing UBC to use both of its timeouts before the technical break. With help from the steady Doland, who smacked four of her kills and a service ace in the initial Calgary surge, the Dinos owned a 14-9 advantage and seemed to have seized momentum.
The T-Birds rallied back strong and quickly reversed the flow of the game however, using an 13-2 run to go ahead 22-16 before winning the set 25-19. Four UBC players had at least three kills in the game, overwhelming the Dinos with their depth.
UBC lead the entire way in the second set and blew it open after the mid-set break, at one point leading 23-14 courtesy of a 7-2 run. Calgary did put pressure on in the end with their backs against the wall, running off four straight points, but a harmless Marcelle forehand pass-turned-kill took the wind out of the home squad's sails. A subsequent service ace gave UBC the 25-18 victory.
Dawson did her best at numerous points of the third set to keep her Dinos within striking distance, earning five kills and an ace in the last set. 17-17 was as close as Calgary would come though, as
Brina Derksen-Bergen's serve proved to be too much for the home team with four aces down the stretch.
UBC (7-1) will return to Vancouver to host the Regina Cougars. The T-Birds are on a six-game winning streak, capturing 18 of their last 19 sets
"We will be happy to get back home to War Memorial Gym after two weeks on the road," said Reimer.
Calgary (3-5) will hit the road to round out the first half of their Canada West schedule, with their first stop being in Brandon next weekend for a two game set with the Bobcats.
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