VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds will be in Alberta this weekend for a best-of-three series with the No. 4 Golden Bears. The teams play February 17 and 18 at 6:30 with a third game going at 2:30 on Feb. 19 if necessary. The winner of the series advances to the Canada West Final Four in Langley the following week, and also earns a spot in the CIS national tournament.
All games will be broadcast with live statistics on
CanadaWest TV.
GAME TIMES
Fri., Feb. 17 - No. 8 UBC at No. 4 Alberta (6:30 p.m. at Saville Community Sports Centre, Edmonton)
Sat., Feb. 18 - No. 8 UBC at No. 4 Alberta (6:30 p.m. at Saville Community Sports Centre, Edmonton)
Sun., Feb. 19 - No. 8 UBC at No. 4 Alberta (2:30 p.m. at Saville Community Sports Centre, Edmonton) - IF NECESSARY
No. 8 UBC Thunderbirds
2011-12 conference record: 10-10 (6th)
Last Week: L 3-0, L 3-0 at Trinity Western
Streak: 3 losses
The T-Birds will need to have short memories coming off two fairly lopsided losses at No. 1 Trinity Western last week. They knew they would be in tough against the nation's top team, but the 'Birds typically play close even with the best of competition, so they will be disappointed with their results in Langley.
It's another difficult test this week in the 15-5 Golden Bears, but the T-Birds split the regular season series with the Bears in Alberta, so they know they can beat them in their own house. In their win over the Bears back in November the T-Birds hit a sizzling .376 as a team with
Jarrid Ireland,
David Zeyha and
Robert Bennett splitting up the attacks almost evenly, so keeping the Bears guessing with a similarly balanced attack this week will be important.
That means rookie setter
Milan Nikic will have to bring his A-game, but the freshman doesn't seem to shy away from big moments. He's been the starter since day one for the 'Birds and while he does split duties with senior
Chris Klassen on occasion, Nikic already has the talent to lead a top offence if he can remain composed in the big playoff moments to come.
With freshman Ireland and new transfer Zeyha starting on the outside and sophomore
Ian Perry at libero, there's a lot to be said for middles
Yari Kozel,
Cary Brett and outside hitter
Robert Bennett just based on their experience. All three are fifth-year players, and while the T-Birds appear to be a veteran team on paper with seven fifth-years in total, they typically have as many or even more rookies on the court than seniors at any given time, so Kozel, Brett and Bennett will be important to the team's success this weekend based on leadership alone.
That said, all three can certainly play. Brett and Kozel average 1.29 and 1.09 blocks per game respectively, putting both of them among conference leaders. Bennett has come on strong late in the season to overtake Zeyha for the team kills lead with 2.78 per game.
No. 4 Alberta Golden Bears
2011-12 conference record: 15-5 (3rd)
Last Week: L 3-1, W 3-0 at Brandon
Streak: 1 win
The Bears finished the season on a 7-1 run to take third in the conference, and they will certianly be a tough out for the T-Birds. They haven't failed to qualify for a CIS tournament since the 1999-2000 season, and Canada West regular season kills leader Mitch Irvine won't make UBC's job of changing that trend any easier.
Irvine averages 4.10 kills per game on .273 hitting and is a solid defensive player as well, contributing just under two digs per game. Setter Jarron Mueller is averaging 10.78 assists for the second-best offence in the conference by efficiency, and he doesn't have to rely too much on Irvine with guys like Taylor Hunt and Jay Olmstead waiting in the wings. They both average over three kills per game as well.
Up the middle its Matt McCreary leading the way with 1.20 blocks per game. Tristan Aubry averages just under a block and is an effective offensive middle as well, hitting .306 on the season. The Bears have no shortage of weapons to attack a defence with, but their own defence isn't invincible either as the T-Birds proved last time they met, so a lot of the pressure will be on these middles to slow UBC's hitters down and let their own big guns start firing.
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