VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds needed a win on Saturday to lock down fourth place in the Canada West standings, and they got the job done in straight sets, sweeping the Mount Royal Cougars out of War Memorial Gym with another 3-0 win (25-11, 25-18, 25-19) to earn home court advantage for next week's playoff series.
BOX SCORE
UBC sided out at 80 per cent for the match and outhit Mount Royal .370 to .000. They also had an 18-5 blocking advantage, preventing the Cougars from getting into any kind of offensive rhythm.
“We haven't been able to put together two solid matches in a long time but today we did that, and it was really nice to see,” said UBC head coach
Richard Schick.
The 'Birds neutralized the Cougars' talented servers with great receiving and passing, which also helped set up the UBC attack with good offensive opportunities.
“We were efficient. Our serve receivers did an exceptional job against Mount Royal, and those guys are tough servers,” Schick said. “I thought we took care of the ball well on our side. We just wanted to worry about first contact, and we did a good job of it tonight.”
Fittingly on seniors night, UBC's lone fifth-year player,
David Zeyha, set the pace for the team. He led the way with 11 kills on .500 hitting, adding an ace and three blocks.
“He's done a lot for us, and he has to be ready at the drop of a hat,” Schick said of Zeyha. “He hasn't played as much this year but we really need his firepower out there, and his consistency in the passing game, so hopefully he's got three more weekends left in him.”
Jarrid Ireland added 10 kills from the outside and
Ben Chow had eight. Middle blockers
Chris Howe and
Alex Russell combined for seven kills and were each in on nine blocks.
Colton deMan led the Cougars with 11 kills and two blocks. Trevor Langvand had four kills, as the Cougars finish their inaugural CIS campaign with an 8-14 record.
The win sees UBC finish the regular season 15-7, setting up a first-round playoff series with the 14-8 Manitoba Bisons, who the 'Birds swept in Manitoba back in November.
“I'm sure they will be itching to play us after we went into their house and beat them two times,” said Schick. “We're excited to have them.”
The best-of-three series between UBC and Manitoba begins on Thursday, February 14 at 7 p.m. Game two goes Saturday at 7 p.m., and if necessary, game three will be Sunday at 3 p.m.
The winner of that series moves on to the Canada West Final Four, held the following weekend at the University of Alberta. The top three finishers there will earn a trip to the CIS tournament.
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