Vancouver - After surviving a five-set scare in Regina on Friday night, the UBC Thunderbirds made short work of the Cougars in round two on Saturday, wrapping up their 2013 conference action with a 3-0 win (25-12, 25-18, 25-20).
"We're very pleased that we came out on fire and were very solid from the serving line and that set a great tone," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "Our blocking was much improved and I think we tightened in most areas. It was a good final match before the break and we're very proud of getting to 12-0, but are ready for some tough matches after the break."
The T-Birds bolted out to a 15-5 lead in the first set, and never looked in danger at any point in the match. UBC held comfortable leads heading into the late portions of each set, and the Cougars struggled to get anything going against the T-Bird defence, hitting .022 for the match.
Lisa Barclay led the 'Birds with 10 kills on .300 hitting.
Rosie Schlagintweit had seven kills, and
Abbey Keeping added four.
Keeping and her middle blocker partner,
Mariah Bruinsma, also made big contributions on the defensive side. They each had four block assists and Bruinsma also had three solo blocks to disrupt the Regina attack. UBC outblocked Regina 11-8 overall.
The service line was another major advantage for the 'Birds, who racked up 10 aces to just four service errors. Barclay had three, while Keeping and Kaitlin Crawford added two aces each. Regina had two aces and five errors at the line.
Tori Glynn led the Cougars with eight kills. Desiree Ates and Michelle Sweeting each had seven. The Cougars fall to 3-9 on the season.
The T-Birds head into the break at 12-0, with a three-game lead in the Canada West standings. They also have a 37-match winning streak including regular season and playoff action dating back to October 27, 2012.
UBC will resume conference play in 2014 with some key match-ups against other conference condenders. They start on January 10 in Kelowna against UBC Okanagan, who are 9-2 with one game still to come before the break. Their next home action is January 17 and 18 against the 9-3 Brandon Bobcats.
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