CALGARY – The UBC Thunderbirds (11-1) head into the holiday break in style with a straight sets win (25-22, 25-21, 25-21) over the Mount Royal Cougars Saturday afternoon on Kenyon Court.
The No. 2 'Birds carried momentum from Friday's straight sets win earning a fourth-straight match to close out 2017.
Irvan Brar led the T-Birds in attacks with 14 out of the team's 39 total kills. The Cougars' leading attacker was Tyler Schmidt with 12 out of the team's 31. UBC's Byron Keturakis stood out in the serving department with a total of three aces throughout the match.
Rolling off Friday's sweep, the Thunderbirds were off to a strong start in the first set. Following in the footsteps of yesterday's match they took the early lead over the Cougars. With multiple attacks from Brar, the Cougars were forced to call a timeout when they fell behind 5-8. Following the timeout the Cougars were caught on technical errors such as missed serves and on the net calls, allowing the Thunderbirds to maintain their lead. Going into the technical timeout the Thunderbirds led 16-10. Although they pushed back, the Cougars were unable to reach the finish line as UBC took the set on two final attacks from Brar, for a final score of 25-22.
The Cougars came out of the gates slow once again in the second set. With the Thunderbirds gaining a five-point lead right off the bat, the Cougars called a timeout as they fell behind 1-6. It was Quinn Bromley that brought the Cougars back into the game going on a three-point serving streak, one of which was an ace. At the technical timeout, the Thunderbirds remained in the lead 16-13. Coming out of the timeout, MRU's Tyler Schmidt put out a kill from the right side, gaining back control of the serve. Three missed serves followed the kill and ultimately the Cougars were unable to get back the five points they gave up at the start of the set, and the Thunderbirds won 25-21.
Going into the third the Cougars picked up their game. For the first time the set went back and forth between the two teams, neither able to break away with a lead. Both teams struggled to find the court when serving, with multiple balls flying out the back. Once again MRU libero Jonathan Phillips stood out, picking up the Thunderbirds attacks. UBC then found a groove and was able to pull ahead leading 16-11 at the technical timeout. No different than the other sets, once the Thunderbirds gained a lead, they rolled with it. Their offence was strong and the T-Birds won the set on a middle kill from Jordan Deshane with a final score of 25-21. The win also sealed the match for the Thunderbirds, giving them the undefeated title this weekend.
Having lost just one set over the course of their current four-match win streak, the 'Birds are now off from Canada West action for a full month. UBC will host the Manitoba Bisons January 5 and 6 at War Memorial Gym.
