VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds got back to their winning ways with a monster come-from-behind five set (22-25, 16-25, 25-23, 25-23, 15-9) victory over the Alberta Golden Bears at War Memorial Gym. With the win, the 'Birds gained the inside track on the fourth seed in Canada West and hosting duties in the first round of the playoffs. If the 'Birds can secure a series split or better next weekend in Brandon, the Canada West quarterfinal would see UBC and the Bobcats re-match in a best-of-three series starting March 3rd at War Memorial Gym.
UBC's attack was firing on all cylinders on Saturday night as the 'Birds finished with a 30.9% hitting percentage with 61 kills and 60 assists.
Irvan Brar notched 22 kills to lead the T-Bird offence, setter
Byron Keturakis racked up 52 assists and 6 digs, while
Mat Guidi earned 16 kills with 7 digs.
"It feels incredible to beat such a good team just ahead of us in third place," said Guidi. "It was a game of emotions for me, because it started off not too bad…but we really pulled it in at the end. It ups our chances for a good playoff spot and coming off this win we're excited."
UBC Head Coach
Kerry MacDonald was impressed by his team's ability to fight back.
"The resiliency tonight…this group has showed all year that there's no quit in them and I'm really proud of them all."
Alberta's Ryan Nickifor had another standout performance with 20 kills and 5 digs, while rookie Taryq Sani smacked 13 kills and added 4 digs and 4 blocks.
In a tightly contested first set, the Bears pulled ahead 13-11 on a block before
Cam Fennema launched one of his 11 kills from the back row to bring the 'Birds within one. Later, Fennema turned aside Alberta's attack with a solo block to give the 'Birds an 18-17 edge but it didn't last long. The Golden Bears failed to convert their first set point, up 24-21, but Keturakis' serve sailed long and Alberta took the set 25-22.
Alberta's offence proved to be too much for UBC to handle in a more lop-sided, 25-16 second set victory.
UBC rallied in the third set and stepped up defensively on a lengthy rally at 3-3, but the Golden Bears took the point on a T-Bird ball-handling violation. Graduating senior
Angus Ireland checked in to serve and helped pull the 'Birds within two at 12-10, Golden Bears. Guidi cranked a kill and an ace to draw even at 15-15, before Fennema reached back for his fourth kill to take UBC into the break up 16-15. The home team held on to their narrow lead for a 25-23 win.
The Thunderbirds sprinted out to a 4-0 advantage in the fourth and extended it to a six-point margin – forcing an Alberta timeout. As expected, the Golden Bears didn't go down without a fight and got to within four at 16-12. UBC's lead continued to slip away as Alberta came all the way back to tie it up late at 23-23, but Brar and Guidi came up big with two kills to force a fifth and deciding set.
A Fennema ace gave the T-Birds their largest lead in the final frame. With the 'Birds up 9-7, Brar stood tall with a solo block and a kill to widen the lead to 13-9. Facing their first set point, the Thunderbirds completed the comeback to take the fifth 15-9.
"We want to be in the best possible shape heading into the playoffs," said Coach MacDonald. "No matter who we end up meeting – they're going to be good and we want to be in peak condition when that comes."
