VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds, the fifth-ranked women's volleyball team in Canada, return to the court this weekend as they host the Brandon Bobcats in Vancouver this weekend.
 
The teams will play at 6 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday at War Memorial Gymnasium.
 
The Thunderbirds resume Canada West league action after getting a bye last weekend. With a record of 11-1 in conference play, UBC is just out of first place, currently held by three teams at 13-1. The Thunderbirds will face all three of those squads in 2016. UBC's remaining opponents in league play have a combined record of 56-28 and a winning percentage of .667.
 
Left side Danielle Brisebois (Bolton, Ont.) leads the Thunderbirds offence and is in the Canada West's top five in a number of categories. She is fourth in the league in kills per set (3.73), hitting percentage (.309) and points per set (4.6). The fourth-year player is second in the Canada West in service aces per set, averaging 0.55 so far this season.
 
In fact, she one of three Thunderbirds in the top five in aces per set in the Canada West. Left side Laura MacTaggart (Lacombe, Alta.) is third with 0.53 and setter Alessandra Gentile (Port Moody, B.C.) is fifth with 0.46.
 
Second-year middle Ciara Hanly (Calgary) continues to lead UBC statistically in blocking, with 1.11 blocks per set, which is also fourth in the conference.
 
At 5-9, the Bobcats sit in ninth place in the Canada West standings, a game behind the group of four teams at 6-8. Six of their losses have come against Alberta, Trinity Western and UBC Okanagan, the top three teams in the CIS. However, Brandon has a guaranteed berth to the CIS Women's Volleyball Championship, as the school will host the national tournament March 11-13.
 
The team went 2-3 over the holiday break at the Innisbrook Invitational Tournament in St. Petersburg, Fla., claiming straight sets wins over Brock and McMaster. The Bobcats suffered 3-0 defeats at the hands of Sherbrooke, McGill and McMaster.
 
Last season in Brandon, the T-Birds and Bobcats split their regular season doubleheader Jan. 16-17, 2015. Brandon won Friday's match in five sets while UBC rebounded to win in straight sets the next day.