VNACOUVER - The No. 6-ranked UBC Thunderbirds men's volleyball team finished strong on Friday, upsetting the No. 3-ranked Calgary Dinos 3-1 at War Memorial Gym.
 
The T-Birds claimed their third win of the season by set scores of 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-18.
 
Calgary native Mac McNicol led the attack for UBC from the outside, racking up 17 kills on 36 attempts. Middle Alex Russell (Surrey, B.C.) was his usual efficient two-way self, picking up 11 kills with a 0.526 attack efficiency, while also picking up four blocks. Setter Byron Keturakis (Victoria, B.C.) led the team in assists, finishing with 42, and service aces, with three.
 
The Dinos were led by the outside hitting tandem of Curtis Stockton and Conor Frehlich, who racked up 19 and 11 kills, respectively.
 
A 9-1 run Calgary midway through the frame was the key sequence of the opening set, as the Dinos turned an 11-9 UBC advantage into an 18-12 lead. Despite some strong play from McNicol, who finished the frame with five kills, the 'Birds couldn't pull out of the deficit late in the set, dropping it 25-20.
 
The duo of Frehlich and Stockton were at the forefront of the Dinos' opening assault, as they combined for nine kills and seven digs in the first set. 
 
Like the first stanza, a key run decided the overall outcome of otherwise close second set. However, this one happened to be a little later, and in the favour of the home side. Deadlocked 19-19, UBC went on a 5-1 run on thanks to kills from MacNicol, Irvan Brar (Surrey, B.C.), and Russell, coupled with a couple of attacking errors from the Dinos. Despite a late charge from Calgary, the 'Birds claimed the set 25-23 on a another kill from Brar, who finished with 10 on the day.
 
The third set saw UBC start to take over the contest, as after getting out to a 1-0 lead on a kill from middle Joel Regehr (Courtenay, B.C.), the 'Birds never trailed in the frame. The T-Birds broke the set open with a 5-1 stretch that gave them an 11-6 lead midway through the frame, and then kept pressing. MacNicol picked up another three kills over the next several points, as UBC stretched their lead to 23-15. Regehr, who finished the contest with a game-high six blocks, bookended the set, as he capped off the 25-19 win with a kill. 
 
In the fourth set, UBC stormed out of the gate, building up a 6-1 lead on some terrific service play from Byron Keturakis. However, Calgary refused to let the game get away from them entirely, as they battled back to equalize at 8-8. The 'Birds regained their momentum over the next few minutes, as they went on an 8-3 run to take control of the set once again, this time armed with 1 16-11 advantage. One of the highlights of the afternoon came on the next play, as Regehr absolutely laid out on a dig, allowing outside hitter Mat Guidi (Coquitlam, B.C.) to rise up and finish the point off with a nasty kill. After UBC built up a 22-12 lead, Calgary did everything in their power to stay alive, as they ripped off six straight points to cut the hosts' advantage down to 4. The Dinos couldn't manage to claw all the way back, and the home side took the decision with three straight points.
 
"It was anybody's game tonight," said UBC head coach Richard Schick after the game. "At certain times, we were more solid tonight than Calgary, and our blocking was a stabilizer. After the first set, I feel our serving picked up as well, so that was a major difference. It's not about how you start, it's how you finish, and tonight, I thought we finished with our blocking."
 
UBC will aim to complete the sweep of their Albertan foes tomorrow, as the two sides square off at 3:30 p.m. (PT) at War Memorial Gym, part of UBC Thunderbirds Super Weekend.