VANCOUVER - The top-ranked Thunderbirds have had some of their most lopsided victories of the Canada West women's volleyball season over the past two weeks, but they face a tough test at home this weekend against No. 8 UBC Okanagan. Both will be streamed with live statistics at
CanadaWest.tv.
No. 1 UBC Thunderbirds (15-1)
Last Week: W 3-0, W 3-0 at Thompson Rivers
There wasn't a whole lot for the Thunderbirds to prove over the last couple weeks of conference action against struggling opponents, but they still deserve credit for their remarkable consistency. Not only did they extend their match win streak to 14 and their set win streak to 24, the 'Birds have only allowed an opponent to score more than 17 points in a set twice in their last five matches.
And that kind of dominance is a product not just of their star players, but the whole roster. In fact, senior setter
Brina Derksen-Bergen (Abbotsford, BC) was unavailable due to injury last week, and
Kirsty Setterlund (White Rock, BC) filled in without missing a beat. She even produced a couple massive scoring runs on her serve and averaged over nine assists per set.
Head coach
Doug Reimer also used the opportunity to let some of his reserve hitters get some swings in. Rookies
Danielle Brisebois (Bolton, ON) and
Juliana Kaufmanis (Richmond, BC) were both productive in limited action, as Brisebois had four kills in the series and Kaufmanis led the team with eight digs in the second match.
Rosie Schlagintweit (Abbotsford, BC) led the team in attacks both nights, capping off the series with a fantastic 12 kill, .588 hitting performance. That was hardly a shocker for her, as she averages 2.56 kills per game and hits around .300 for the season. But considering she is the T-Birds' third option on the outside most nights, behind former CIS MVP
Shanice Marcelle (Victoria, BC) and current third-place holder on the Canada West kills leaderboard
Lisa Barclay (Brandon, MB), opposing coaches must lose sleep trying to figure out who to focus their game plan on when UBC is on the schedule.
No. 8 UBC Okanagan Heat (11-5)
Last Week: W 3-2, W 3-2 vs Calgary
The Heat cut a wide swathe in the standings last week between themselves in fifth place and Calgary in sixth. UBCO was only two games up on Calgary before their series, and the Dinos played them about as close as a team can, with both matches being decided by the minimum two points in the fifth set. But close counts for nothing in volleyball, and now Calgary will be fighting just to stay in playoff position down the stretch, while the Heat still have home court in their sights for their first-round playoff series.
And they are in very good position to make that happen too, as the team that stands in their way (Mount Royal) is only up one game, with UBC and the dangerous Trinity Western still on their schedule. The Heat have two series against losing teams to finish their season after this UBC series, so they have plenty to play for even with their playoff berth all but guaranteed at this point.
Like the T-Birds, the Heat have several outside hitters capable of big numbers. Myrtle Schon holds the team lead in kills at 2.47, but Alexandra Basso actually gets most of the sets, and Jillian Festival posted a 20-kill performance last week against Calgary, and her .259 hitting percentage is by far the best of the three.
In the middle, Canada West blocks leader Katy Klomps is going to be tough to handle on both sides of the ball. Her 1.41 blocks per game make her an obvious headache for opposing offences, but she can produce a little offence of her own, as she is third on the team in kills and leads all Heat starters in hitting percentage.
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