Vancouver, BC - There won't be much on the line in terms of playoff seeding or home court advantage, but UBC's regular season finale series this weekend should nonetheless be an explosive battle, as the CIS No. 4 T-Birds invade Alberta to take on the No. 3 Golden Bears.
With both teams at 14-6, neither side can reach conference-leading Trinity Western (18-2) with just these two matches remaining. Neither team can fall further than fourth in the conference either, which would still come with the same home court advantage for round one of the playoffs.
And considering the ridiculous traffic jam below the fourth seed in the standings, none of the home teams are likely to be fretting too much about their round-one match up. The next six teams in the standings are all either 10-10 or 9-11, fighting it out for the last three postseason berths.
The 'Birds and Bears each bring plenty of offence to the table, ranking second and third in Canada West hitting percentage and kills. Alberta also ranks second in opponent hitting percentage, and while the T-Birds are a strong defensive team in their own right, the Bears could have a slight advantage defending the net. With the exception of the towering
Alex Russell, the Bears, like many Canada West teams, will have the height advantage at many spots, and they have produced the third-most blocks per set of any team in the conference. UBC ranks last in blocks per set.
That will put extra pressure on the T-Birds to mix it up offensively if they want to remain efficient against this tough defence. Fortunately, the floor general leading the offence does have plenty of tricks in his bag. Setter
Milan Nikic ranks third in conference assists, getting lots of players involved in the attack and making some significant contributions himself, averaging well over half a kill per set with his deadly-quick setter dump shots.
The T-Birds have continued to find success by attacking with their middles. Both Russell and
Chris Howe have been highly efficient attackers, combining for about four kills per game. After the 'Birds lost game one last week against Saskatchewan, that duo was a huge part of getting them a rebound 3-0 win the next night. Russell racked up 13 kills on 20 attacks and Howe had 12 kills in only 15 attacks to fuel a .421 team hitting performance for UBC – one of its best showings of the season.
Looking to slow that attack down are Alberta's fifth-year middle, Matt McCreary, and third year middle Josh Goranson. They are also a highly productive offensive pairing in the middle, combining for just over three kills per set, and both are hitting well above .400 for the season. But they set themselves apart defensively, with both players able to create big disruptions in their opponents' game plan, averaging about one block each per set.
Outside hitter Ryley Barnes leads the team with 3.46 kills per set, but the Golden Bears don't rely on any single source of offence. Three other Bears average at least two kills per set, and that doesn't even include Goranson or McCreary, so Alberta can really get points from just about anywhere on the floor and anyone on the roster.
With two league-leading offences clashing just as these teams are hoping to max out their potential with playoffs looming, it could very well come down to whichever side figures out a way to slow things down defensively, getting their opposition out of sync. Whatever happens, this series seems like a likely playoff preview, with both teams looking to kick off deep postseason runs beginning next week.
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