VANCOUVER - The No. 8 Thunderbirds trail Manitoba by a game in the standings, but they will have a chance to rectify that before the holiday break as they hit the road to take on the No. 4 Bisons this weekend for their last men's volleyball conference action until January.
Both games will be streamed with live statistics at
CanadaWest.TV.
GAME TIMES
Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1 - No. 8 UBC at No. 4 Manitoba (6 p.m. at Investors Group Athletic Centre, Winnipeg)
No. 8 UBC Thunderbirds (6-4)
Last Week: W 3-0, W 3-0 vs Regina
The T-Birds have now won five straight matches to take over fifth place in Canada West, and some positive results in Manitoba would go a long way in keeping the pressure on those teams at the top. They looked very good at home last week, routing the Regina Cougars behind tremendous performances from
Quentin Schmidt (Calgary, AB) and
Jarrid Ireland (Winnipeg, MB) on the outside, and
Alex Russell (Surrey, BC) and
Chris Howe (Salt Spring Island, BC) in the middle.
Schmidt had 25 kills for the weekend while hitting about .400, and Ireland racked up 19 while contributing defensively with 22 digs. Russell and Howe were both efficient when called on offensively, and blocking machines defensively in both matches. Howe set the standard with seven blocks on Saturday.
And the good showings didn't stop there for UBC.
Ben Chow added 10 kills on .562 hitting in game two, and setter
Milan Nikic (Calgary, AB) made some outstanding plays on both sides of the ball. The 'Birds can't afford to get complacent after sweeping a struggling team like Regina, but this group is definitely on a roll and will be tough to slow down.
No. 4 Manitoba Bisons (7-2)
Last Week: L 3-2, W 3-0 vs Thompson Rivers
After they were taken down in five sets to start their series with TRU last week, the Bisons rebounded well in game two, with Evan Jackson, Evan Schmidt and Kenny Rooney leading them to the win. Schmidt had a game-high 14 kills, while Jackson added nine kills on. 500 hitting. Rooney had seven kills on just 10 attacks from the middle, also chipping in five blocks.
It was a refreshing effort for the Bisons, who typically rely on senior hitter Dane Pischke as their top offensive option. He is hitting .305 this year while ranking seventh in the conference with 3.24 kills per game.
But while he may be the top option, Pischke is hardly the only choice for Manitoba when it comes to attacking. Jackson is next with on the team 2.65 kills, while Schmidt, Rooney and Chris Voth all average more than two kills per game as well. Their multitude of weapons has made Manitoba a tough team to slow down offensively, and they rank second in Canada West with a .283 team hitting percentage.
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