The Matchup

 
The UBC Thunderbirds have a tough test ahead as the sixth-ranked Mt. Royal Cougars visit War Memorial Gym on Friday at 7:30pm PST and Saturday at 6:30pm PST. UBC and Mt. Royal have eight wins apiece on the season, but the Cougars (8-4) sit at fifth in the Canada West with two games in hand on the sixth place 'Birds (8-6).


 
In 2015 the T-Birds travelled to Calgary to take down the Cougars 3-1 and 3-2 despite a gritty comeback bid by MRU. Setter Byron Keturakis played a big role in the five-set victory with 8 digs and closed out the match on a disguised tip over the block. The two teams were evenly matched  – UBC won 71 total points, while Mt. Royal won 70.

Last Action

After sweeping UBCO at home in their first action after the winter break, UBC dropped both games in Manitoba last weekend to the 13-1 Bisons. The 'Birds pushed the second place Manitoba squad to five sets on night one and lost in four sets to close out the series on the road.

The Cougars were swept for the first time all season by Trinity Western two weeks ago, but rebounded with a dominant 3-0, 3-0 victory in Regina last weekend.

By the Numbers

691 – the Thunderbirds' total number of kills this season – tops in U sports.

12.9 – Mt. Royal's average kills per set, good for second most in the league

Players To Watch

 
Joel Regehr – (#9, Middle Blocker) – the third-year Kinesiology student leads the 'Birds with 58 total blocks, a key piece of the UBC front line that is second in the league with 139 total blocks.


 
Cam Fennema – (#6, Ouside Hitter) – Fennema is third in kills (133) and kills per set (2.29) on a potent T-Bird attacking core.

Coach's Take

UBC Head Coach Kerry MacDonald knows the weekend will be a good test. "Although we didn't get any wins last weekend against Manitoba, we progressed significantly as a team and I'm looking for a similar performance this weekend. It will take a strong showing from us to be successful as MRU is ranked 6th in Canada for good reason.  It's a match I'm really looking forward to as I coached several of the players in club volleyball a few years ago (Tyler Schmidt, Tanner Greves, Quinn Bromley). It should make for a great weekend of volleyball."