VANCOUVER - After being down 2-0 on home court, the UBC Thunderbirds (1-2) fought back in a thrilling third set, but ultimately fell 3-1 (25-20, 25-17, 21-25, and 25-18) to the Winnipeg Wesman (3-0) on opening night at War Memorial Gym.
 
UBC started strong and kept pace with the visitors early before Winnipeg widened their 13-10 first set lead and a David Bommersbach kill closed out a 25-20 win.
 
Late in the second, a Winnipeg misfire drew the Thunderbirds back to within five at 17-22, but the Wesman's powerful offence combined with UBC defensive errors saw the 'Birds drop the second set 25-17.


 
A sneaky tip by Byron Keturakis gave UBC an early third set lead and the T-Birds started to build some momentum. Irvan Brar and Keturakis raised their level of play, but a marathon rally won by Winnipeg knotted both teams up at 11. With the score even at 16-16, Mat Guidi came up with a huge dig for the Thunderbirds that turned the tides back in favour of the 'Birds. Keturakis fired three crucial aces to win the third 25-21 and keep UBC's hopes alive.
 
"That was awesome," said Keturakis. "I played off the momentum my team got, because we made some big team points, some big digs, some big block touches and we played well at the start of the fourth."


 
UBC controlled play to start the fourth set – but it wasn't enough to force a fifth as the Thunderbirds fell 25-18 in front of a raucous home crowd.
 
A dominant attacking force for the 'Birds, Brar finished with 15 kills and contributed 9 digs, while Keturakis had 37 assists and 11 digs on the night.


 
"The third set was definitely our best set – especially late," said UBC Head Coach Kerry MacDonald. "That's the style of volleyball we're definitely capable of playing, unfortunately we didn't do that consistently enough tonight. 
 
In his first home game as head coach of the Thunderbirds, MacDonald appreciated the atmosphere and knows his team can perform better.
 
"It was great. The crowd was excellent, the fans were fantastic, so it's too bad we couldn't get the 'W' for them but we'll try again tomorrow. I don't think there's really much we need to change, it's just our ability to execute. You just can't make that many errors to win at this level."
 
Keturakis echoed his coach's sentiment and is looking forward to the rematch on Saturday at 6:30 pm.
 
"It wasn't quite there tonight, but I'm confident these guys will come to play tomorrow."