Matchup
It'll be a battle of two Canada West powerhouses when the No. 2 UBC Thunderbirds (6-0) go head-to-head with the sixth-ranked Alberta Golden Bears (6-0) in Edmonton this weekend, the only two undefeated teams remaining in the conference.
T-Bird Head Coach
Kerry MacDonald is focused on continuing the process that has proven successful since the start of the season.
"Our approach for this weekend is really no different than it has been all season," said MacDonald. "We're simply taking each match as it comes and trying to get better with every game. Alberta has a strong team this year but have had a lot of line-up changes from the team we played in the national semi-final last year."
This weekend is the only regular season meeting between the two teams, but the division rivals met twice in crucial playoff matches a season ago. The 'Birds swept the Golden Bears 3-0 to take bronze in the Canada West final four, but then fell 3-2 in dramatic fashion to Alberta in the U SPORTS national semi-final.
First serve Friday is 6:30 p.m. PT while Saturday's match begins at 4:00 p.m. PT.
Last Action
UBC defeated the Thompson Rivers WolfPack without dropping a set at War Memorial Gym (3-0, 3-0) to pick up their 5th and 6th consecutive wins.
Irvan Brar smacked 26 kills and 9 aces over the two matches while
Keith West and
Mat Guidi each added 14 kills in 6 sets of action.
Alberta had an equally dominant showing at home over the Manitoba Bisons with two straight sets wins last week.
By the Numbers
54 - The Thunderbirds have a whopping 54 aces and average the most aces per set in the league.
Byron Keturakis tops the 'Birds with 17 while Brar has 15.
4.86 – Alberta's Taryq Sani has the most kills per set in the Canada West with 4.86 and also leads the league with 2.45 digs per set.
Players to Watch
Joel Regehr (#9, Middle) – The steady fourth-year middle blocker has played all 23 sets for the 'Birds, earning 37 kills with 8 digs and 7 blocks.
Jordan Deshane (#8, Middle) – In his second year with UBC, Deshane has a team-high 14 blocks with 19 kills and 5 digs.
Coach's take
Coach MacDonald still sees room for improvement from his lineup.
"Our serving pressure and ability to receive the ball well on serve receive will continue to be keys for our success," said the second-year head coach. "I am also looking for an improved performance on defence as I don't believe that we have played our best yet this season."
