VANCOUVER - The No. 4-ranked UBC Thunderbirds men's volleyball team scored a 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-23, 25-21) victory over the Calgary Dinos at War Memorial Gym in Vancouver on Saturday afternoon.
BOX SCORE
Quentin Schmidt,
Alex Russell, and
Ben Chow led UBC's offence with 13, 11, and 11 kills, respectively, while
Milan Nikic recorded a game-high 45 assists.
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Greg Mann paced the Dinos with a game-high 17 kills, while Darcee Froese and Connor Frehlich contributed 10 and nine. Calgary's Cory Meeuwisse led all players in digs, with 13.
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Amidst a heated, dynamic atmosphere, the first set commenced with competitive play as both teams fought to gain an advantage. UBC's front row looked to Russell and
Mac McNicol to block Dino attacks while at setter,
Milan Nikic worked hand-in-hand with libero
Ian Perry to set-up UBC's hitters for success. Chow and Schmidt remained crucial to the Thunderbird dynamic, consistently communicating and sending fierce attacks to the Dinos. Similarly, Calgary looked to Froese and Greg Mann to lead the Dino offence.
The scoreboard wavered between the teams for the entirety of the set, with Calgary ahead 16-15 at the official timeout. The Dinos used a 4-1 run to go ahead 21-18 but the 'Birds immediately replied with a 5-2 spurt of their own to tie the set at 23-23. However, after a service error gave the Dinos the ball, Connor Frehlich knocked down a kill to finish off the back-and-forth first set at 25-23.
UBC opened the second set with a kill by
Ben Chow and the 'Birds would score the first four points of the set uncontested. Commanding aces by
Milan Nikic and
Quentin Schmidt kept up the UBC gumption as they managed to maintain the lead over the Dinos through the middle of the set. Nikic was on fire through the set, sending over a strategic attack before contributing his third ace of match. Similarly,
Ben Chow tallied a remarkable six kills for the 'Birds in the second set alone. UBC led by six at the technical timeout and carried this momentum into the tail end of the set. Despite Calgary's best efforts, the 'Birds were able to pull ahead and a powerful kill by Chow ended the set, 25-23.
The third set began with serving errors from both teams. Chow then took control with an authoritative ace and
Gabriel Aaron followed with a kill to put the 'Birds ahead by two points. Play resumed competitively through the middle of the set, with Russell, Aaron, and Chow leading the way for the 'Birds. After two fierce kills from Greg Mann, Calgary found itself with the momentum in the middle of the set. UBC responded and after a commanding block from Russell, the 'Birds went into the technical timeout ahead, 16-15. Play resumed with both teams looking to establish an advantage, and a Calgary serving error and a kill from Aaron gave a lead back to UBC. After two consecutive Chow kills, UBC clinched a second consecutive set, 25-23.
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Russell put UBC first on the scoreboard in the fourth set with a dominant kill before the lead would consistently rotate between teams through the middle of the set. McNicol established his place in the front row by contributing to three huge blocks and sending over fierce attacks alongside Russell and Aaron. Up by four at the technical time out, UBC came back out looking to end the match. An ace by
Quentin Schmidt and a block by McNicol put the 'Birds up by six at 19-13. And with a kill by Schmidt, UBC won the game with a fourth set win, 25-21.
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The two teams will meet again tomorrow at 3 p.m. at War Memorial Gymnasium.
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