VANCOUVER – A weekend sweep of the visiting MacEwan Griffins (3-9) will give the UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball team a solid 11-1 record heading into the winter break.
 
UBC won Saturday night's matchup with a dominant three-set (25-17, 25-15, 25-23) performance, capping off an impressive weekend and early season.
 
UBC's Danielle Brisebois (Bolton, Ont.) led her team with a stellar 20 kills and seven digs. Juliana Kaufmanis (Richmond, B.C) had eight kills and nine digs, while Alessandra Gentile (Port Moody, B.C.) logged 29 assists.
 
Cassidy Kinsella recorded eight kills for visiting MacEwan, which also got 26 assists and three blocks from Claire McLoughlin and 10 digs from Michelle Bodnarek.
 
UBC improved over Friday night's contest with a .333 hitting percentage compared to MacEwan with .093.
 
While the 'Birds dominated the first two sets, they trailed for a majority of the third. Thanks to a full team effort, UBC was able to reignite late in the set and secure the 3-0 result.
 
Brisebois noted the strong play of the Griffins in the third set, but that the Thunderbirds were able to rally together for the win.
 
"They had a run of good serves on us. It's happened a couple times this season and we've been able to come back," said Brisebois.
 
"It's something we will need to improve on for sure, since we are going to be playing tougher teams next semester."
 
While the Griffins trailed for a majority of the first set, they rarely fell behind by more than two points. A late-set streak pushed the 'Birds to an eight-point lead.
 
Three early kills from Brisebois propelled her team to an early 9-5 lead, but her streak was immediately followed by 6-1 run from the Griffins, which included contributions from Kate Rozendaal (a kill and an ace), Kinsella (a kill), and McLoughlin and Jasey Hook, who combined for a block. MacEwan took an 11-10 lead.
 
Back-to-back kills from MacEwan's Kinsella helped keep things tied up at 14. A pair of MacEwan errors and a solid team-effort from the T-Birds, including kills from Ciara Hanly (Calgary) and Victoria Behie (Nanaimo, B.C.), motored UBC to a commanding 25-17 finish.
 
UBC kept the momentum alive heading into the second set and pulled ahead to an early 4-1 lead.
 
A pair of kills and an ace from Emily Cicon (Courtenay, B.C.) helped her team move ahead to a 14-7 lead. The Griffins responded immediately with a five-point run, which had two kills from Rozendaal and an ace from Bodnarek, that forced UBC to take their first timeout.
 
The break helped, as UBC dominated offensively for the remainder of the second set. Brisebois had five of her seven set kills during the run, helping UBC outscore MacEwan 11-3 to end the set with a 25-15 advantage.
 
The Griffins entered the third frame strong, with a pair of kills from Alex Schwanke contributing to a 5-1 lead.
 
The 'Birds retaliated with a four-point run, capping with a solid block and kill from Kaufmanis that put UBC in their first lead of the set at 7-6.
 
The Griffins responded with a five unanswered, a run that included two Bodnarek aces, bringing them to an 11-7 lead. They kept the momentum in their favour, pulling ahead to a 15-9 lead and compelling UBC to take another timeout, which was forced after Hook delivered two aces for the visiting side.
 
Three back-to-back kills by Brisebois and an ace from Gentile pulled UBC back to within one at 17-16.
 
Things remained close for the remainder of the set, with neither team being attaining more than a two-point lead.
 
A feed from Gentile allowed Brisebois to slam down the final point and give the Thunderbirds a commanding 3-0 finish.
 
Both teams are done league play until the new year. MacEwan will host Winnipeg on the weekend of Jan. 8-9, while UBC won't play until its Jan. 15-16 series at home against Brandon.