Matchup
Locked in a three-way tie for tops in the Canada West, the UBC Thunderbirds (8-2) are off to Calgary to finish the year on the road against the Mount Royal Cougars (5-5) on Friday and Saturday, December 1 and 2.
"It is a tough time for the players with December exams looming and the end of a long first half," said UBC Head Coach
Doug Reimer. "The mindset needs to be to dig deep to finish well and set us in good shape for term two."
The 'Birds were in good form against the Cougars last season, winning 3-1 and 3-0 at War Memorial Gym, but the last time these two teams met Mount Royal downed the T-Birds 3-1 at the West Coast Classic tune-up tournament.
First serve Friday is 6:30 p.m. PT with Saturday's match scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT, both at Kenyon Court.
Last Action
The Thunderbirds defeated MacEwan in front of a packed "School Day" crowd last Friday afternoon edging the Griffins 3-1 before battling to a tight 3-2 win on Saturday night.
Kiera Van Ryk smoked 42 kills with 29 digs in the series sweep, and libero
Samantha Patko racked up 41 digs.
Mount Royal snapped a three-game slide with a 3-1 win over the Huskies last weekend, but fell in five sets on the second night of their trip to Saskatchewan.
By the Numbers
18.1
– the Thunderbirds average the most points per set in all of U SPORTS with 18.1.
499
– UBC is just one assist shy of the 500 mark, second most in the nation, with setter
Alessandra Gentile averaging over nine per set.
Players to Watch
Gabrielle Attieh (#4, Middle) – Attieh's nine service aces last weekend propelled her into 3rd in the Canada West with 22 on the season. Her .309 hitting percentage is 4th in the conference and she leads the 'Birds with seven solo blocks.
Anna Price (#8, Left Side) – In her third year with the T-Birds, Price equalled her highest kill total in a match with eight against MacEwan and added nine digs in the series.
Coach's take
"We anticipate a tough weekend on the road against MRU," said Reimer. "They have been playing well and we are going to have our hands full on their home court. We really have been going week by week but given the parity in the conference I think we are pretty happy with the results so far."
