VANCOUVER – The Trinity Western Spartans fought off a determined comeback attempt by the host UBC Thunderbirds in a non-conference match at War Memorial Gymnasium Thursday night, winning 3-2 (25-10, 25-19, 17-25, 19-25, 15-12).
 
"It was a good pre-season game for us," said UBC head coach Kerry MacDonald. "We showed some good things and we definitely showed some areas we still need to get better at. We're not as consistent as we'd like to be but we haven't been able to play a team of that caliber yet this year. That's a team that pushes you to play well and you can't make too many errors against them. I'm happy overall with how we're progressing and where we are."
 
Irvan Brar had 15 kills to pace UBC's offence, while Mat Guidi had the team lead in digs with 10.


 
After the Spartans claimed the first two sets, the T-Birds came out strong in the third, jumping out to a 10-5 lead. The margin was still five points at the technical timeout, after Jean-Benoit Gagne knocked down a kill to make it 16-11. UBC went up by eight points (23-15) on a Spartans error before Matt Santema closed out the set with a kill.
 
The teams were tied 12-12 in the fourth but the T-Birds were able to build momentum late, including a 5-1 run late with help from two Jordan Deshane kills, to go ahead 23-17. Brar's kill on the second set point sent the match to a deciding set.
 
In the fifth, TWU went ahead 6-3 and the T-Birds couldn't level the score, despite closing to 13-12. The Spartans won the next two points and the match.
 
UBC has two more games this weekend. The team will face UBC Okanagan on Friday at 6 p.m., and Mt. Royal on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Both contests will take place at the Langley Events Centre.