VANCOUVER – Coming in with equal records and just two spots apart in the U Sports Top 10 rankings, the no. 4-ranked UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball team (14-3) delivered a strong statement on Friday evening, taking down the no. 6-ranked Calgary Dinos (13-4) by a convincing 3-1 margin.
Set scores were 25-11, 25-21, 16-25, and 25-23.
"Obviously, even just looking at the score, it's clear that the first set was very good for us," recapped UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "We played great offensively, we took their shots away on defense, and to beat a team like Calgary 25-11 is pretty great. No way we'd be able to sustain that level, but as the match went on, credit to Calgary who made good adjustments, and we really had to battle hard."
On the attack, it was a pair of fifth-year outside hitters leading the Thunderbirds, as
Danielle Brisebois racked up a monstrous game-high of 21 kills to go along with a couple of aces, while
Juliana Kaufmanis set the tone in that dominant first set, notching seven of her 14 kills in the opening frame. Both Brisebois and Kaufmanis added 10 digs apiece for good measure.
"Dani was tremendous all over – back row, front row, she was swinging strong, she was excellent serving the ball, and was just steady all around," said Remier. "As for Juliana, I thought that was her best offensive game of the year – she really kept them off balance in the first set, and then had some key swings over the final three sets that kept momentum on our side."
After the early portion of the opening set saw the Canada West foes knotted up 5-5, a pair of Brisebois kills jump started a 16-3 run that the 'Birds wouldn't waste. Kaufmanis accounted for three kills in the frame latter stages as the Clan ran away with the opening set.
The second set saw Calgary show some real fight, as they kept it close for long stretches of the stanza. Down 21-18, the Dinos clawed their way back to a one-point margin of deficit, down 22-21, before the 'Birds closed the door.
Following a Reimer timeout to settle the T-Birds down, Kaufmanis and
Maggie Li responded with a pair of wicked back-to-back kills some nice defense from Ciara Hanley forced the Dinos into an attacking error and giving the 'Birds the 25-21 win.
In the third, a 10-10 deadlock spun in Calgary's direction, as the Dinos parlayed a 7-2 run into a 17-12 advantage, and the 'Birds couldn't wrestle momentum back. The Dinos would close the set on a 4-0 stretch, with the set-sealing point coming off an ace from middle Jaylynn Moffatt.
However, the 'Birds adjusted well to Calgary's new-found intensity in the fourth quarter. After a constant back-and-forth battle, the T-Birds found themselves up 23-21. Kaufmanis put the visitors at match point with her final kill of the contest before Moffatt replied for Calgary. Fittingly, Brisebois would lock up the key win for the 'Birds on the next point, drilling a beautiful assist from Alessandra Gentille for the game-winning kill.
The 'Birds and Dinos will clash again tomorrow evening, with the first serve set for 5:00 p.m. (PT) in Calgary's Jack Simpson Gym.
