VANCOUVER - Coming off a scrappy split series with Winnipeg, the Thunderbirds men's volleyball team will have to be sharp when they head out on the road this weekend to take on a desperate Thompson Rivers team looking to keep its playoff hopes alive. This weekend will see the fourth and fifth matchup (both will be streamed with live statistics at
CanadaWest.TV) between these two teams. They split a pair at UBC's Thunderball Tournament in the fall before the T-Birds won the TRU McDonald's Tournament by beating the host WolfPack.
GAME TIMES (both games at TRY Gymnasium, Kamloops)
Friday, Jan. 18
8 p.m. - No. 7 UBC at Thompson Rivers
Saturday, Jan. 19
7 p.m. - No. 7 at Thompson Rivers
No. 7 UBC Thunderbirds (9-5)
Last Week: L 3-2, W 3-0 vs Winnipeg
It was a rude welcome back to conference play for the Thunderbirds in 2013. They started out strong against Winnipeg but gave up a 2-0 lead to drop game one, which ended a seven-match conference win streak and prevented them from gaining valuable ground in the standings.
The 'Birds rebounded with a great effort in game two though, with big performances from setter
Milan Nikic and outside hitter
Ben Chow earning them a quick 3-0 win and series split. That has them sitting in fifth right now, tied at 9-5 with Saskatchewan but behind on head to head results.
Saskatchewan has to play that same tough Winnipeg team in their home gym this week, and third place Brandon (10-4) plays undefeated Alberta this weekend, so the T-Birds have a great opportunity to climb up the standings if they can come up with two wins at Thompson Rivers.
Look for the middle blocker combo of
Alex Russell and
Chris Howe to keep the T-Birds rolling. The two are tied for second in conference blocking, averaging 1.31 per set each, and both are coming off strong showings at home last week, including an 11-block night for Russell in game one.
Thompson Rivers WolfPack (5-9)
Last Week: L 3-0, L 3-0 at No. 8 Saskatchewan
They knew it wouldn't be easy to grab a win against the Huskies in Saskatchewan, but with their playoff chances starting to slip away, you'd expect the WolfPack to at least pick up a set win somewhere. To their credit, the final two sets in both matches were decided by just two points, but both the opening sets were complete blowouts, and the 'Pack can't fall behind like that against good teams if they want to sneak into the playoffs.
Now they have to hope that getting back in their home gym will help them turn things around, because the one thing they have on their side as the regular season winds down is the schedule. Thompson Rivers plays at home for six of their last eight games beginning this week, and UBC is the last team they face that currently has a winning record.
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