Langley, BC - Friday evening, the six-time defending CIS champion UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball team opened-up their regular season play with a 3-0 sweep over the rival Trinity Western University Spartans.
BOX SCORE
"I thought our team showed great composure," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "We played steady volleyball and we played consistently near the end of the sets. I thought we had a number of good performances,
Briana Liau Kent played very well and was strong in her passing and defence. She covered up a lot of court tonight. We got good offensive production around the court.
Juliana Kaufmanis contributed from the front and back row for us and served and passed the ball well."
Both the Thunderbirds and the Spartans came out with an intense dynamic, resulting in a highly competitive first set.
Kirsty Setterlund quickly established her place as the new starting setter for the 'Birds, as she continually created scoring opportunities for
Lisa Barclay,
Rosie Schlagintweit, and
Abbey Keeping. The end of the set had both teams moving in and out of the lead; but, a strong kill by
Rosie Schlagintweit gave UBC the push it needed to close the set 25-23.
In the second, the 'Birds developed a dominant rhythm over the Spartans. UBC's teamwork resulted in quick digs, effective passes, and strong hits. At libero,
Briana Liau Kent dug deep and, in conjunction with
Kirsty Setterlund, set-up countless opportunities for the UBC squad.
Lisa Barclay led the set with 6 kills, helping UBC finish the set 25-11.
The play in the third set much resembled that of the first, in that both teams fought to control the lead and the momentum.
Rosie Schlagintweit led UBC's offensive charge with 7 kills, while the Spartans relied heavily on the duo of Alicia Perrin and Lauren Moncks to keep their offense moving. In the end, the 'Birds prevailed, finishing the set 25-22.
Both
Lisa Barclay and
Rosie Schlagintweit tallied a remarkable 14 kills for the evening, while
Juliana Kaufmanis contributed seven and
Abbey Keeping, six. TWU's Sophie Carpentier led the Spartans with nine kills, followed closely by Alicia Perrin, who contributed eight.
"As group, we're pleased with the start and hope we can come back tomorrow and play well again," said Reimer.
Saturday evening, these two teams will face-off once more to close the first weekend of conference play. The game will be held at War Memorial Gymnasium at 5 p.m. Stick around following the game for the banner-raising ceremony recognizing the Thunderbirds record-tying sixth straight CIS national title.
