The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER – Friday's tilt between UBC and Alberta had all the makings of an offensive shootout on paper, and the live action certainly lived up to expectations, especially during the lengthy first and third sets, with the Thunderbirds eventually getting the best of the Golden Bears 3-1 (29-27, 25-19, 34-36, 25-19) in Edmonton.
 
"I thought we really controlled the net with 18 blocks," said UBC head coach Richard Schick. "It was definitely our best performance of the year."

UBC hit a sizzling .336 as a team, with Milan Nikic dishing out 56 assists and four players reaching double digits in kills. Alberta hit a respectable .222, but that number is also dragged down by the fourth set when they coughed out a flat .000 after starting the night with three sets of impressive offensive volleyball.
 
The story of the night was the one set the Golden Bears managed to steal. The third set seemed like it was never going to end, not only because it literally went on into nearly uncharted point territory, but because almost every point after the teams hit the 20s was decided with hardly any defensive resistance.  Every swing seemed to be a perfectly aimed cannon shot as the teams traded blows in short, highly intense rallies.
 
"It was really good to see how we responded after that third set, because it was a bit of a heartbreaker not to take that. But at the same time, what was most important was how we responded in the fourth, which is a massive positive for us," said Schick.

"We didn't give up too many runs. If we gave up one, we'd be tougher in fighting out that next ball."

Ben Chow had 10 of his 18 kills in that third set alone, and seemed unstoppable at times, with just about every one of his attacks ending in UBC points in the late going.
 
But finally, with the score tied 34-34, the defences dug in and a marathon rally ensued, with Jay Olmstead eventually putting away a back row kill to give Alberta a surge of momentum.  After another long rally on the next point, the Bears stuffed Quentin Schmidt at the net to take the set 36-34.
 
But UBC was unfazed by that tough set loss, and the 'Birds bounced back with their best set of the night in the fourth. They finally slowed down Alberta's offence and kept their own attack rolling along at the same time to put up a very convincing road win.
 
One major bright spot for the T-Birds was the blocking effort. They came into this game ranked last in the conference in average blocks, but they outdid the Golden Bears 18-8 in that category on Friday, with everyone getting in on the action.
 
Alex Russell had seven block assists and one solo, as did Nikic out of the setter spot. Chris Howe added six block assists, and Chow had five assists and one solo.
 
UBC's middles remained red-hot offensively too, as Russell had 14 kills on .522 hitting, and Howe added 10 while hitting .400. Outside hitter Quentin Schmidt added 15 kills.
 
The T-Birds move into sole possession of second place at 15-6, and they have good odds of locking up that second seed in the finale tomorrow. The tiebreaker, if Alberta wins, would be the ratio of sets won to sets lost for the entire season, and the only way Alberta can finish with the better sets won/loss record is with a 3-0 win.
 
UBC and Alberta wrap up the regular season on Saturday at 4 p.m.
 
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