VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds will host a familiar foe this weekend at War Memorial Gym, as the Manitoba Bisons come to town for a rematch of last year's Canada West quarterfinal series.
The 'Birds beat Manitoba 3-2 and 3-1 in the quarterfinals last season in Vancouver. These teams also met for two regular season matches in Manitoba that UBC won 3-2 and 3-1, and the 'Birds took Manitoba down 3-2 in the preseason action before that, so both sides will be expecting a gritty and probably lengthy battle.
But it is a new season, and a very new look for the Bisons, with 32-year head coach Garth Pischke taking a leave of absence and handing the reins to first-year CIS coach Cam Johnson. The team also lost a bevy of key players, including five of six starters.
The Bisons split with Winnipeg on the road last week, winning 3-1 on opening night before dropping a 3-2 decision on Saturday. So far at least the starting setter job seems to be transitioning nicely, as Luke Herr posted an impressive 101 assists over opening weekend.
For UBC it was a tough start last week, as they lost starting setter
Milan Nikic in the first set against Trinity Western on their way to a pair of 3-1 losses. Fortunately, they do have options at setter, with regular backup
Austin Hinchey and starting libero
Ian Perry both able to slot in.
The 'Birds were also without
Jarrid Ireland to start the season, leading to some extra looks for
Ben Chow on the outside. He had 29 kills against the Spartans, but the 'Birds were held under .160 hitting as a team, so T-Birds really need to be extra focused and eliminate errors going forward as they deal with some key missing pieces.
It will be important for middles
Alex Russell and
Chris Howe to show up big on both sides of the ball, putting the pressure on a young Bisons team defensively with their presence at the net, and providing an outlet for a few easy kills on offence. Russell had a nice opening night with 10 kills on .333 hitting and a pair of solo blocks.
Another player to watch is
Noah Derksen, who has taken over libero duties while Perry is at setter. The better he is in the passing game, the easier it will be to get things turned around offensively.
