VANCOUVER – It wasn't the UBC Thunderbirds' sharpest effort on Friday night against the Regina Cougars, but they managed to overcome a sluggish start to earn a 3-1 win (25-27, 25-11, 25-17, 25-19) at War Memorial Gym as they honoured all nine of UBC's CIS national champion teams with many alumni in attendance.
UBC moves to 8-1 with the win, still tied atop the conference standings with Trinity Western. The Cougars fall to 1-8.
Their 27-25 loss in the first set was UBC's first set-loss in the past five matches. The Cougars used a 5-0 run midway through the set to take an 18-15 lead, and the T-Birds never looked quite right for the rest of the set, missing some shots they typically make.
Shanice Marcelle was hardly the only T-Bird off her game in the first, but the usually-automatic outside hitter struggled through a very high-volume set, committing five errors in 23 attacks.
Desiree Ates had four kills and six digs in the first to lead the Cougars to the win. But her side hit a wall in the second set after the emotional high in the first, managing just four kills and a .000 hitting percentage as the 'Birds rolled 25-11.
"I give Regina credit for their start. We failed to be steady enough in the first set," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "When you have a lot of unforced errors and don't match their work ethic, bad things can happen. It was good for our group overall to be pushed that way so we're ready to battle every set, and our response in sets two and three was really good."
Danielle Brisebois had her most productive showing as a T-Bird in the second. It was only the third set she's played in, but she made her mark with three kills on only five attacks. UBC also got four from
Lisa Barclay and three from
Begum Pulas, getting great ball distribution to the outside from setter
Brina Derksen-Bergen.
Set three looked destined to be another runaway affair like the second after UBC went on a tear midway through, posting a 12-2 run thanks in large part to some outstanding serving. Middle blocker
Jessica von Schilling did a lot of that damage from the line, serving her team to a 5-0 run that included back-to-back aces to establish a big lead.
The fourth was like the first early on, with UBC holding a small lead until the Cougars put a scoring run together and tied it up at 15. But this time instead of Regina surging ahead, the T-Birds kept up their impressive serving barrage to hold on for the win.
"In that first set Regina sided out at 61 per cent. That's a comment on our serving and blocking," said Reimer. "But after that it's 33, 40, 41, which is a comment on how when you get them out of system everything else looks better."
Reimer noted that his team's dramatic improvement at the service line after the first was a big reason for the turnaround.
"When you're struggling in one aspect of the game, it's about what you're still doing in other areas if you want to be successful," he said.
UBC had six aces in the fourth and 15 on the night, with von Schilling's five aces leading the team.
Mariah Bruinsma had three, and
Begum Pulas and Marcelle each had two.
The Cougars had six aces and 10 service errors in the game.
Marcelle recovered well late in the match, making no errors in the final two sets and finishing with 12 kills. She also made an impact at the net with six blocks. Barclay led the way offensively for UBC with 14 on .308 hitting.
Ates led the Cougars with 12 kills and 14 digs. Michelle Sweeting and Tori Glynn each had seven kills.
UBC and Regina get back at it on Saturday to wrap up their series. That game is at War Memorial Gym beginning at 5 p.m.
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