VANCOUVER – The No. 5-ranked UBC Thunderbirds started their weekend off on a winning note, defeating the visiting Brandon Bobcats in an entertaining four-set Canada West men's volleyball match at War Memorial Gymnasium.
 
The scores were 25-20, 17-25, 25-21, 25-21 for the 'Birds.
 
Offensively, the Birds were lead by third-year outside hitter Irvan Brar, who racked up an impressive 15 kills. Joining Brar in the double-digit kill club was Mat Guidi who had 12.
 
On the other side of the court, a pair of Bobcats also reached double digits in kills with Daven Pascal recording 16 and Roy Ching earning 10.
 
Right from the opening serve of the first set, UBC jumped on the opposing Bobcats early and often, having a quick lead of 6-2. A Guidi kill put the Thunderbirds up 10-4.
 
UBC did a great job controlling the tempo, never allowing more than two Brandon points in a row. The Bobcats made a late push in the set, and closed to 23-20 thanks to a Pascal kill but the home side claimed the next two points, finishing with style as Brar delivered a set-ending ace.
 
In set two, the roles seemed to be reversed. Inconsistent play from the 'Birds allowed Brandon to jump out to a commanding 15-8 lead, thanks mostly to a run of seven straight points after UBC claimed a slight 5-3 advantage.
 
Bruce Akubukaka started the run off by knocking down a kill. Mason Metcalf got a solo block on a UBC attack. Brady Nault continued the momentum with a service ace before Ching got three kills in a row. Then he and Metcalf combined on a block.
 
UBC really could not get anything going offensively, as Brandon had a strong defensive set recording seven team blocks. Ching and Akubukaka closed out the set with kills as the visitors won 25-17.
 
UBC won both the third and fourth sets 25-21.
 
In the third, UBC lead 6-1, however Brandon was able to fight back. They were able to cut the deficit to 12-11. An ace by middle Joel Regehr extended UBC's lead to 18-13, which stretched to 20-13.
 
The Bobcats got to within three on two different occasions but couldn't level the score before a service error ended the set.
 
The fourth and final set was much of the same, as it was back and forth for the whole set.
 
Brandon's Seth Friesen knocked down a kill after the technical timeout to tie the score at 16-16, however, UBC claimed the next three points to create a bit of separation. Byron Keturakis earned a kill to make it 23-19, but the Bobcats couldn't close the gap and lost the set and match.
 
"It was pretty up and down, there was no real rhythm to the match on either side, so I am happy to get out of here with a 'W,' said UBC head coach Richard Schick. "We're just looking for some more consistency because the match was up in the air all the way until the last serve."
 
The second match of the weekend series will take place Saturday at 6:30 p.m. PT at War Memorial Gym.
 
"We have to be a little more focused, and a little more determined and driven of what's being asked of us," said Schick of Saturday's rematch with Brandon.