Matchup

 
After a pair of victories on their home opening weekend, the UBC Thunderbirds (3-1) are back at War Memorial Gym to host the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack (2-2) on Thursday and Friday, November 9 and 10 at 6:00 p.m. PT.
 
"TRU can't be overlooked," says T-Bird head coach Doug Reimer. "They probably deserved a split this past weekend against Brandon and we have had good battles with them over the past several years."


 
The two teams will be renewing acquaintances for the first time since the 'Birds took down the the Wolfpack 3-0, 3-2 in the Canada West quarter-final a season ago en route to their national championship victory. Both sides have a slew of returning talent, despite having their main attacking threats in Danielle Brisebois and Iuliia Pakhomenko finish their five years of eligibility.
 

Last Action

 
UBC handed an undefeated Calgary Dinos squad their first two losses a weekend ago, winning 3-1 & 3-0 on home court. Olivia Furlan had an impressive 21 kills and 24 digs in two games, while Ciara Hanly earned 12 blocks with 16 kills and Kiera van Ryk notched 24 kills and 14 digs in the two wins.
 
TRU dropped a pair of matches to the Bobcats, first losing a five-set battle before falling in straight sets to fall back to .500 early this season.
 

By the Numbers

 
14.53 – UBC is tops in the Canada West in kills per set, with van Ryk leading the 'Birds with an average of 4.00 kills per set.
 
2.44 – the Wolfpack have the most service aces per set in the league, averaging almost two and a half, with right side Mikayla Funk picking up 12 aces so far this season.
 

Players to Watch

 
Olivia Furlan (#12, Setter/RS) – the backup setter and right side had a standout weekend for the T-Birds against Calgary and continues to progress in just her second year with UBC.


 
Kiera van Ryk (#3, LS) – the rookie left side and former Jr. National Team member has stood out early in the season with 60 kills and 35 digs to date.
 

Coach's take

 
Coach Reimer was impressed with his team's performance against the Dinos and knows they can carry their strong play into this week.
 
"We had some strong team play during the weekend, especially Saturday night," said Reimer. "Samantha Patko anchored our backrow play and defensively we were pretty solid all around. Offensively we had different players step up, including Olivia Furlan in the second half of Friday's match and Kiera van Ryk on Saturday. In general, if we are handling the ball well we are able to get all our hitters involved which is very encouraging for this time in the season."