VANCOUVER - The No. 5-ranked UBC Thunderbirds men's volleyball team rebounded from a Friday loss with a straight sets victory (25-19, 29-27, and 25-21) over the host Winnipeg Wesmen on Saturday.
BOX SCORE
In the first set, UBC gained an early advantage on the strength of a service run by
Milan Nikic. After siding out to tie the game at 1-1, UBC won the next six points with Nikic serving, a run that began with three aces by the UBC setter.
Winnipeg fought their back into contention, cutting UBC's lead to 19-17, but the Thunderbirds rebounded to claim six of the next eight points to finish off the first set.
UBC fought off three set points to eventually claim the second set, 29-27. The Wesmen served to clinch the set at 25-24, 26-25 and 27-26 but committed errors on the first two opportunities. On the third set point,
Ben Chow knocked down a kill to tie the game. Winnipeg's Casey Schouten then committed two attack errors to hand the set to the visitors.
The 'Birds came into the third set determined and immediately took command of the set, leading by nine (14-5) at one point. Winnipeg closed the gap to just two points at 22-20 but UBC claimed three of the next four to close out the match.
The Thunderbirds'
Gabriel Aaron recorded a team-high 10 kills while Chow and
Mac McNicol had nine apiece.
Ian Perry had eight digs on defence.
Next weekend, UBC (5-3) will host the Calgary Dinos at War Memorial Gymnasium, with the games taking place Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. The Wesmen (4-4) will travel to Kelowna for a two-game set against the UBC Okanagan Heat.
-30-
