VANCOUVER – "No matter if you win or lose it's gaining the respect of your opponents , your fans, and the people around you. Leaving that gym tonight we could all hold our heads up high," said UBC men's volleyball head coach Richard Schick, while driving back from Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C.
 
Schick's Thunderbirds had just split a brutally competitive weekend double header with the sixth ranked Spartans, but the split wasn't enough, as UBC needed the sweep. After a five-set win Friday the 'Birds fell 3-0 (25-22, 27-25, 25-22) Saturday and were eliminated from the postseason at the Langley Events Centre in front of 1,000 volleyball fans.
 
For the Thunderbirds their season finishes with a solid record (13-11), but no chance at playoff glory.
 
UBC was led by Mat Guidi (Coquitlam, B.C.), who had 10 kills and four aces, while Irvan Brar (Surrey, B.C.) had seven kills. Setter Milan Nikic (Calgary) added five aces and 24 assists. The loss for UBC also ended Thunderbird career of Nikic and Alex Russell (Surrey, B.C.). The two seniors will graduate after five years of service. 
 
"It comes down to trust, loyalty and respect and with those guys it was always there," said Schick. "I treasure that. I said to them afterwards I'm not saying thank you yet. Thank you would mean it's over and it's goodbye. They've been pillars of our team."
 
To prove Schick's seniors had gained the respect of their opponent, one only has to listen to Trinity Western head coach Ben Josephson.
 
"I'm pretty excited not to see Nikic and Russell around anymore," Josephson said. "Those two have great chemistry together and are just awesome players. Nikic kept them in it with his service and our whole defensive scheme was designed around a middle player, which is a credit to how good Russell is."
 
Trinity Western used the three-pronged attack of Ryan Sclater, who had 17 kills, Blake Scheerhoorn, who had 14 kills, and Scott Plocktis, who had six kills on just seven attempts. The Spartans overcame a 10-0 UBC edge in aces to finish the season with a win that put TWU at 14-10 for the year.
 
The Spartans, who finished sixth in the conference standings, will now prepare to open the Canada West playoffs on the road against Calgary in the conference quarter-finals. 
 
The T-Birds scored the first four points of the night, but the Spartans responded with a 9-0 run to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Despite UBC holding the Spartans without a block and having a 3-0 edge in aces, it was TWU winning 25-22.
 
With Scheerhoorn and Sclater collecting eight kills apiece, the Spartans took a two-set lead after edging UBC 27-25 in the second set. Like the first set, UBC took a quick lead, going ahead 4-1, before TWU went on a 5-1 run to take the lead. From there, it was back-and-forth. 
 
Despite UBC having an 8-0 edge in aces through two sets, the T-Birds trailed 2-0.
 
In the third set, the Spartans went up 8-1 and never trailed. The T-Birds rallied to get within two points on three separate occasions, but they couldn't climb any closer. On TWU's third attempt at match point, the Spartans finally got the win after a UBC serving error. Sclater led TWU with five kills in the final set.
 
- with files from Trinity Western Athletics