VANCOUVER - The Thunderbirds have one last obstacle to clear before the holiday break, but it won't be an easy one, as they hit the road to take on a re-energized Manitoba Bisons team fighting to stay in Canada West women's volleyball playoff position.
Both games will be streamed with live statistics at
CanadaWest.TV.
GAME TIMES
Friday, Nov. 30 and Saturday, Dec. 1 - No. 2 UBC at Manitoba (4 p.m. at Investors Group Athletic Centre, Winnipeg)
No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (9-1)
Last Week: W 3-1, W 3-0 vs Regina
The T-Birds stumbled a bit getting out of the gate last weekend against Regina, but after a surprising first set loss they seemed to get better as the weekend went on, picking up two wins to keep pace with Trinity Western at the top of the standings.
And while the usual suspects like
Lisa Barclay and
Shanice Marcelle continued their strong play, some of the team's less experienced players looked just as good against the Cougars, especially in game two. Second-year outside hitter
Alissa Coulter had her best performance as a T-Bird so far in that game, leading the team with 11 kills on .500 hitting and eight digs.
Rookies
Danielle Brisebois,
Juliana Kaufmanis and
Alana Hansen all got some court time as well. Brisebois got in all three sets in game two, while Kaufmanis had one kill and one block while making her CIS debut in the third set. Hansen also made her debut in the third, picking up two assists.
Manitoba Bisons (6-4)
Last Week: W 3-0, W 3-0 vs Thompson Rivers
The Bisons certainly expected to beat the winless Thompson Rivers WolfPack last week, but they still have to be extremely happy with that series, not just because of the wins, but because of the way they got them.
Taylor Pischke hadn't played for the Bisons at all until last week, but the former NCAA player didn't disappoint in her debut. She earned Canada West Athlete of the Week honours after putting down almost five kills per set against the WolfPack.
Manitoba already has Rachel Cockrell, averaging the second-most kills (3.94) in the conference, and libero Nicole Hall, who averages a conference-leading 3.87 digs, so adding another great all-around talent like Pischke, who is a national team beach player, should make the Bisons a very tough out.
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