SHERBROOKE, Que. – The UBC Thunderbirds will have a chance to make CIS women's volleyball history on Saturday.
They will attempt to win their sixth national title in a row on Saturday after coming from behind to defeat the Trinity Western Spartans 3-1 (22-25, 25-14, 25-20, 25-23) in the semifinals of the CIS women's volleyball championship in Sherbrooke, Que. on Friday.
“We shared the load offensively,” said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer of his players. “We shared some of the defensive workload and blocking so we had just enough.”
WVB: T-Birds v. TWU (Mar. 1, 2013) Gallery
Alissa Coulter (Calgary, AB) helped UBC get the winning point in the fourth set as she drove a ball into two pairs of Trinity Western arms, which deflected the ball out of bounds.
The point completed a T-Birds comeback in both the set and the match after UBC lost the first set and then fell behind 8-3 to open the fourth.
The Thunderbirds maintained their composure, slowly making up ground until
Rosie Schlagintweit (Abbotsford, BC) tied the set at 14-14 with a solo block.
UBC took a 22-21 advantage on a Trinity Western attack error. A tip from
Shanice Marcelle (Victoria, BC) put the T-Birds up 23-22 but the Spartans tied the game up at 23-23 only to put their ensuing serve into the net to give UBC match point, which it converted.
“One of the first things that come to mind is what we talked about all year: our composure as a team, especially riding through the tougher times,” said Reimer.
UBC's tough times began early for the second straight match. The T-Birds fell behind early and couldn't build a big run despite staying within reach of the Spartans, the only team other than UBC to be ranked No. 1 in the CIS this season.
The five-time defending national champions replied in the second, storming ahead 9-4, eventually winning by 11 points. The team's blocking at the net improved and drove UBC's fortunes. The T-Birds ended the night with 12 team blocks to the Spartans' nine.
Neither team was able to take control in a back-and-forth third set until UBC won four straight points to go up 19-15.
The two squads traded points from there until Abigail Keeping (Surrey, BC) knocked down a kill to finish off the set.
Lisa Barclay (Brandon, MB) had 10 kills to lead UBC while Marcelle and Schlagintweit had nine each. Marcelle had 17 digs to pace UBC defensively along with the T-Birds' player of the game,
Brina Derksen-Bergen (Abbotsford, BC). Schlagintweit and
Briana Liau Kent (Vancouver, BC) chipped in with 15 digs.
“I would add today that we were quite mentally tough,” said Reimer, who also praised the passing of Derksen-Bergen and the overall game of Liau Kent. “No one out there played a perfect game but some players really rode through some tough times and came back and made huge contributions.
“Neither Lisa nor Rosie started as well as they would have liked but they were absolutely crucial as the match went so I'm proud of them and the whole group.”
UBC will play the Alberta Pandas on Saturday in a rematch of last year's championship, won by the T-Birds. Alberta and Winnipeg hold the current CIS record of six straight national title triumphs.
Game time is 1 p.m. Pacific and will be webcast live on the
CIS website.
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