VANCOUVER - The six-time defending national champion UBC Thunderbirds are 10-0 this season and riding a 35-match women's volleyball win streak in CIS regular season and playoff action dating back to October 27, 2012, and they will look to extend that into the holiday break when they wrap up their first-half schedule in Regina this weekend.
The 'Birds have rolled to straight-sets victories in five of their last seven matches, and that dominance is reflected in the conference stats, where UBC leads the way in hitting percentage, opponent hitting percentage, assists, kills and aces.
As for the individual leaderboards,
Lisa Barclay is on top with 4.31 kills per game,
Kirsty Setterlund is pacing the conference setters with 10.72 assists per game, and
Abbey Keeping is second in the league with a .366 hitting percentage.
But as impressive as those three have been, the real secret to UBC's success has been the depth of talent they have all over the court. Behind Barclay in the outside hitting ranks is
Rosie Schlagintweit, who is averaging 3.25 kills on a very efficient .292 hitting percentage. And along with Keeping in the middle is
Mariah Bruinsma, whose .470 hitting percentage would be leading the conference if she had enough attacks to qualify.
Then there are
Alissa Coulter,
Juliana Kaufmanis and
Danielle Brisebois, all averaging at least a kill per game, and all capable of filling in without missing a beat when the starters need a break. The ability to run just about anyone on the roster out on the floor at any time without a dip in play is a big reason the 'Birds are in the hunt for a seventh consecutive CIS title.
The Cougars are the only team to beat the Thunderbirds this year. On Oct. 6, Regina came into War Memorial Gym and won a pre-season West Coast Classic match in five sets. The team has some top-end talent that the T-Birds will need to be wary of.
Outside hitter Desiree Ates is second in Canada West with 4.05 kills per game, but Regina has no other attacker averaging at least a kill per game and better than .100 hitting percentage from the outside. In the middle, Michelle Sweeting is a viable offensive option with just under three kills per game on .297 hitting, but defence from the middle position has been lacking for the Cougars, who rank second-last in blocking.
Despite the 3-7 record, the Cougars are actually just a game out of a playoff spot right now, and things are trending upward for the team after they lost their first five matches to start the year. So there's still plenty to play for as they look to get things turned around in time for a playoff push, and wrapping up the first half of their schedule at home against the CIS No. 1 T-Birds will be a good chance for the Cougars to make a statement about their postseason intentions.
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