Matchup

 
The UBC Thunderbirds take their 9-1 record into Calgary this weekend to face the Mount Royal Cougars (2-8) for the final doubleheader of the calendar year on Friday and Saturday, December 1 and 2.
 
As one of three teams tied atop the Canada West, the winter break is a good time for the T-Birds to assess the season to date.

"We are continuing to refine our systems and address our weaknesses as we head into the final weekend of the semester," said UBC Head Coach Kerry MacDonald. "I'm certainly happy with our record so far, but I truly am evaluating ourselves based on where we are at technically and tactically."
 


A season ago the T-Birds defeated the Cougars 3-0 and 3-2 at War Memorial Gym.

First serve Friday is 5:00 p.m. PT with Saturday's rematch scheduled for 3:00 p.m. PT, both at Kenyon Court.
 

Last Action

 
UBC bounced back from their first loss of the season with a sweep over MacEwan on home court last weekend. Winning 3-0 and 3-1, the Thunderbirds regained their momentum and remain the second ranked team in the country. Jordan Deshane put up 13 kills and 8 blocks in 7 sets, Ben Chow had 11 digs, and Irvan Brar had a team-high 21 kills over the series.
 
Mount Royal has dropped four matches in a row, winning just one set against Saskatchewan last weekend.
 

By the Numbers

 
477 – The Thunderbirds are second in U SPORTS with 477 total kills on the season.
 
.295 –  Hitting at a .295 clip, the 'Birds have the second highest hitting percentage in the Canada West.
 

Players to Watch

 
Byron Keturakis (#1, Setter) – In his fourth year with the T-Birds, Keturakis is second in the Canada West with 388 assists, a 9.95 average per set. The Surrey native also leads the division with 27 aces.
 


Tyson Smith (#16, Libero) – The second-year libero is top-10 in the conference with an average of 2.06 digs per set.
 
 

Coach's take

 
"Some areas of our game have progressed faster or farther than I thought they would by this stage," said MacDonald. "On the other hand there is still a lot of areas for growth and I'm still excited to see how much more we can improve in December."