Matchup

 
Riding an eight-game win streak and with a playoff spot now secured, the UBC Thunderbirds (14-2) return from a bye week to host the Brandon Bobcats (7-9) at War Memorial Gym on Friday at 6:00 pm and Saturday at 5:00 pm (PST).
 
Thunderbird Head Coach Doug Reimer made the most of the week away to fine-tune his No. 1 ranked team in the country. "The advantage of the bye week is that we can spend the time focusing on us," says Reimer. "[We're] building some individual work-ons and adding some offensive variability and defensive consistency."
 
UBC is sitting in first place in the conference - just two points up on Calgary and Trinity Western, with UBCO four points back of their provincial rival in the stacked Canada West standings. Brandon has recorded two wins in their last ten outings and have fallen to tenth place, but will be looking snap a four-game losing streak this weekend.
 
The T-birds last faced the Bobcats to close out the 2016-2017 season in Manitoba, and earned a series sweep with 3-1 and 3-0 victories en route to the national title. 
 

Last Action

 
UBC extended their winning ways in two straight matches without dropping a set in Winnipeg before hitting their bye week. The 'Birds showed their depth of talent over the span of two 3-0 wins, with six different players racking up over 10 digs, and three different players with 10 or more kills. Olivia Furlan had 14 kills and 14 digs with 3 aces over the series, while Gabrielle Attieh totalled 12 kills and 11 digs with 6 blocks, and Kiera Van Ryk added 23 kills, 14 digs and 3 blocks.
 
The Bobcats have won just two sets during a four-game slide to start the new year, most recently dropping a pair of matches to UBCO (3-0, 3-1) in Kelowna. Nikala Majewski put up 26 kills, 5 aces and 3 blocks last weekend, while Michelle Egger tallied 12 kills and 6 aces in the two losses. 
 

By the Numbers

 
4095 – UBC has the second highest home court attendance in U SPORTS, and it has paid dividends with a perfect 8-0 record at War Memorial Gym.
 
0.76 – Brandon's left-side hitter Michelle Egger leads the Canada West and all of U SPORTS with an average of 0.76 service aces per set, while the Bobcats average the third most service aces per set in the Canada West (2.25).


 

Players to Watch

 
Anna Price – (#8, Left Side) – In her third season with the Thunderbirds, the North Vancouver product has started 14 of the 16 UBC matches this season. Price has 19 service aces on the season, and recorded 11 digs with 7 kills and a block in her last two matches.
 
Kiera Van Ryk – (#3, Left Side) – One of the top attackers in the conference, the freshman hitter continues to lead the Canada West with an average of 4.05 kills per set and 4.7 points per set. Van Ryk is also in the top ten with a hitting percentage of 0.242.
 
 

Coach's take

 
Coach Reimer recognizes the importance of having a balanced attack from his team as the playoff draw closer.
 
"The ability to have a range of players contribute is going to go a long way to determine how far we go this year," says Reimer. "We have a smaller roster so really need the kind of contributions that we saw in Winnipeg."