VANCOUVER - Seeking home court advantage for the first round of playoffs, the UBC Thunderbirds host their first-ever CIS series against Mount Royal to wrap up the men's volleyball regular season this weekend. Fifth-year player
David Zeyha will be honoured on Saturday night in his final regular season home game at UBC.
TICKETS /
WEBCAST
GAME TIMES
Friday, Feb. 8
8 p.m. - Mt. Royal at No. 7 UBC
Saturday, Feb. 9
7 p.m. - Mt. Royal at No. 7 UBC
No. 7 UBC Thunderbirds (13-7)
Last Week: L 3-2, W 3-1 at Brandon
The T-Birds picked up a hard-earned split last week in Brandon, with the Bobcats fighting tooth-and-nail to secure a playoff spot. The sweep would have been nice, but the split still kept UBC tied with Manitoba for fourth place, which is the last spot that provides home court advantage for the first round of playoffs. Manitoba plays 14-6 Saskatchewan to finish the regular season.
A sweep this week would guarantee the 'Birds home court for the first round, and they could finish as high as third depending on what happens between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. But they can also drop as low as sixth, so there's plenty left to play for as the regular season wraps up.
Ben Chow,
Jarrid Ireland and
David Zeyha all hit double digits in kills in both matches last week. Ireland leads the team with 3.27 kills per game, while Chow and Zeyha both average more than two per game. Chow and Zeyha have struggled at times with their attack efficiency, but both have improved in the second half of the season and appear to be playing their best ball at the right time.
Setter
Milan Nikic deserves some credit for that. He's sixth in the conference with 9.68 assists per game, and also seems to be getting better and better each time he takes the floor. He plays with poise well beyond his sophomore status, and is coming off a 94-assist weekend in Brandon.
Mount Royal Cougars (8-12)
Last Week: W 3-1, L 3-0 at Thompson Rivers
The Cougars are still mathematically alive for the final playoff spot, but their straight-sets loss to TRU last week effectively ended their first CIS campaign. They are two games back of seventh-place Winnipeg with two remaining, but that means the Cougars have to sweep UBC and hope Winnipeg loses both its games against TRU to have a shot.
It's not an impossible scenario, as TRU will be playing at home, and they are hardly a doormat with seven wins on the year (including a recent win against UBC), but the odds are certainly stacked against Mount Royal heading into this final week.
The Cougars are a decent offensive team but they have struggled mightily to slow down their opponents' attacks. Mount Royal ranks second-last in both opponent hitting percentage and team blocking. The blocking stat is particularly surprising, because the Mount Royal roster does boast some impressive height. Nine players are listed at 6'5” or taller, including seven-footer Grigor Kartev, a second-year middle blocker from France. He is the team's leading blocker, averaging about one per set, but as a team the Cougars haven't been very effective competing at the net.
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