Vancouver, BC - The UBC Thunderbirds came agonizingly close to an upset of No. 1 Alberta on Saturday, pushing them to five sets before falling 15-13 in the end on Saturday at War Memorial Gym (set scores 25-18, 23-25, 24-26, 25-17, 15-13).
BOX SCORE
MVB: T-Birds v. Alberta (Nov. 3, 2012) Gallery
The Bears took the lead first in the fifth set but the T-Birds weren't letting anything go easy, and managed to fight their way in front after back to back blocks by the combo of
Milan Nikic and
Chris Howe.
That gave UBC an 8-7 lead but an error and then a controversial rotation call put them behind again 9-8. The Bears were still unable to pull away until the very end, when Tristan Aubry posted two straight blocks to give them the 15-13 win.
“We had our chances and weren't able to do enough with them when it counts which makes it tough to lose, but the level of compete was good today,” said Schick.
The 'Birds got a massive performance from fifth-year outside hitter
David Zeyha, who put down a match-high 23 kills on .436 hitting in a losing effort. He also had an ace and five blocks.
“He played like a fifth-year. Had a very good night,” UBC head coach
Richard Schick said of Zeyha.
Aubry had an outstanding game for the Bears, with 13 kills on just 19 attacks and no errors. He also had five blocks including two solo efforts.
UBC's offence started slow and the Alberta block was in control of the first set, but the 'Birds really turned things around after that. They hit .276 en route to winning the second set, aided by a much more aggressive and effective serving game.
Schick commented on his team's lack of effectiveness from the service line on Friday, but the 'Birds were really letting it fly from the line Saturday. After scoring just one ace all last night they had five in just the second and third sets on Saturday.
The servers went a bit cold in the fourth set though, with a string of service errors allowing the Bears to build a big lead and force a fifth. Jay Olmstead had six kills for Alberta in the fourth set and four more in the fifth to lead their offence to victory late.
Olmstead finished with 19 kills on .357 hitting. Mitch Irvine had 13 kills and Matt McCreary added 10 out of the middle for Alberta.
Ben Chow had 12 kills for UBC.
Alex Russell had five blocks and six kills in the middle.
The T-Birds fall to 1-3, but given that those four games have come against the No. 2 Trinity Western Spartans and the No. 1 Bears, Schick is optimistic about where his team can go this season after playing tough against the best.
“We knew it would be a good gauge for us and I think the reading is that we're close at times but not there yet,” Schick said, reflecting on the first two weeks of the season. “We need to strive for a better consistency level and when we get there it will be exciting.”
Alberta moves to 4-0 on the year with the win. They return home next week to host Regina.
UBC will be out on the road for two weeks to take on Saskatchewan and Calgary. They return on November 23 for a home series against Regina.
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