VANCOUVER - The No.-6 ranked UBC Thunderbirds opened up a two game series against the Winnipeg Wesmen with a 3-1 (21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 25-20) victory on Friday evening in the Dr. David F. Anderson Gymnasium in Winnipeg.
UBC, with the victory, remain undefeated on the season with a record of 7-0. The loss halts a three match winning streak for the Wesmen and leaves them with a 3-6 record.
Fourth year left side
Danielle Brisebois led UBC with 10 kills and three service aces. Fourth year right side
Juliana Kaufmanis had eight kills, three service aces to go along with a match high 14 digs.
Winnipeg was led by fifth year Tia Boroski's match high 12 kills. Fourth year left side Ozana Nikolic added eight kills. Sonia Rossy led the Wesmen in digs with 13, while middle blocker Aaliyah Masepela was in on six blocks.
The Wesmen, sparked by a loud and boisterous crowd, jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set. Winnpeg continued to carry the lead to technical timeout, holding a 16-13 advantage at the break. The home side looked to have things in control leading 22-16, when UBC made things interesting. The T-Birds reeled off five straight points to close the gap to 22-21, but the resilient Wesmen team re-took control, and went on to win the opening set 25-21.
Set number two saw UBC jump out in front by a 5-1 margin. Winnipeg, buoyed by a pair of Nikolic kills, scored five straight points to take a 6-5 lead. Once again with momentum on their side, the Wesmen went into the technical timeout with a 16-13 lead. The teams battled to 20-20 until the T-Birds, helped out by a pair of kills from Kaufmanis, went on to win the set 25-22.
UBC had complete control in the third set, storming out to a 10-3 right off the bat. Winnipeg was able to close the gap to 16-11 at the technical break, but that momentum was short-lived, as the T-Birds ended up taking the third set by a 25-18 margin.
The fourth set started out on with the two teams trading blows at an equal pace. That lasted until midway through the frame, when UBC began to pull away. The 'Birds ended the match with a 25-20 win in the set.
Winnipeg and UBC will continue their weekend series on Saturday night. First serve is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. (PT).
