VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds played the role of comeback kids on Friday night, falling behind in all four sets but rallying big to win three of them to earn a key 3-1 victory (25-22,13-25, 25-22, 25-22) over the Brandon Bobcats at War Memorial Gym.
After rallying from a 10-5 deficit to win the third set and take a 2-1 lead, the T-Birds again dug an early hole in the fourth, spotting the Bobcats a 6-1 lead.
But again the 'Birds weren't phased, and despite having lost both starting setter
Milan Nikic and starting middle blocker
Yari Kozel to injuries earlier in the match, they began closing the gap.
A 6-0 UBC run midway through the set gave them their first lead , but Paul Robidoux led the Bobcats on a mini run of their own to jump back in front 21-19. A string of Brandon errors gave UBC the edge at 23-22, and after a solo block from
Cary Brett set up match point, Brett stepped up again, this time with
Jarrid Ireland, for another big block to clinch the match for UBC.
"There was a little bit of everything in that match tonight," said UBC head coach
Richard Schick. "I still think we left a few too many things to chance, like in the last set when we missed a few opportunities to put it away. We were always coming from behind before 10 points, and nobody is really paying too much attention to the score around then. But things start to get a little tight when you get to 20, and I was very happy with the way we played after 20 today."
Setter
Chris Klassen had a strong game in place of Nikic, racking up 26 assists over the final two sets and adding a pair of kills.
"Chris went in and had his usual calming effect. He put the ball where it could be hit," Schick said. "Sometimes guys get a little bit jerky trying to make that perfect set, and sometimes just laying it out there for the hitter and letting him do something with it is the right thing, and Chris did a good job of that tonight."
Ireland led UBC with 15 kills and 12 digs, adding four block assists.
David Zeyha and
Robert Bennett each had 11 kills and Brett added eight on .500 hitting.
First year middle
Alex Russell's stats don't exactly jump off the page, as he finished with just one block assist, but he was able to slow down the Brandon offence at key times despite the T-Birds' major lack of depth in the middle after Kozel went down.
"He had some key slowdowns against (Johnathan) Sloane, and that was key," Schick said of Russell. "I think that started things in regards to the flow of us transitioning the ball. He had a real key one in that last set when they were around 21, 22 points, and it allowed us to transition out of the back row. We had different guys step up tonight as a result of those injuries and that was nice to see."
Sloane was nearly unstoppable for most of the night with 12 kills on just 16 attacks. Sam Tuivai and Ben Glue led the Bobcats with 13 kills each, but also combined for 18 errors. Robidoux had 10 kills on .229 hitting.
The win is a big one for the T-Birds, who have now clinched a playoff spot and moved one game up on both Brandon and Calgary in the standings. They currently sit in fourth, which would mean a home playoff series in the first round.
Brandon falls to 9-8, though they also have a playoff spot locked up. They will look to rebound on Saturday night when they wrap up their series with the 'Birds at War Memorial Gym. Game time is 7 p.m.
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