KAMLOOPS, BC – After a disappointing five-set loss one night earlier, the UBC Thunderbirds came to play Saturday with a dominant straight sets victory over the host Thompson Rivers WolfPack to notch their first win of the 2018-19 season.

Second-year outside hitter Kiera Van Ryk paced the 'Birds with 15 kills while adding 11 digs and a pair of service aces in the convincing victory (25-20, 25-13, 25-18).

"The relief is to win," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "But to play well to get it is certainly better. We had a lot of people play really well. That is some of the steadiness that we are going to need moving forward. It was a good three sets to build on."



The teams traded points in the first set with UBC (1-3) jumping out to a four point lead at 10-6, which prompted a time out being called by Pack head coach Chad Grimm.

UBC's middle blockers gave the Pack trouble but they were able to tie things up at 12.  Van Ryk led the way for the visitors as they wound up taking the set by five points.

Van Ryk, who plays for Canada's national team, had five kills in the set while fifth-year outside hitter Victoria Behie led with six kills. Kendra Finch paced TRU with five kills on eight swings.

That set win spurred on the Thunderbirds as they opened the second set by notching the first three points. Down 5-2, the Pack rallied to tie things up at five. The teams exchanged points until UBC jumped out to a seven point advantage, reaching the technical time out up 16-9. They continued on that momentum and went onto a 12 point win to move up 2-0 in the match. Van Ryk added six more kills to her total while Jayde Robertsen entered the match and responded with five kills of her own.



The Pack tried to mix things up in the third set as they switched setters with Abby Spratt replaced by Anastasiya Muzyka. But the UBC juggernaut continued to roll, jumping out to an early 5-1 advantage.

The WolfPack defence stepped up after a time out and reduced the T-Bird lead to two at 7-5. That prompted UBC bench boss Doug Reimer to call a time out to switch momentum back his team's way, which helped lead to a six point lead at the technical time out. The WolfPack came out of the time out and tried to mount a comeback but it was not to be as UBC won the set 25-18 and took the match in three straight for win number one on the season.

The 'Birds will be right back on the road next weekend when they visit the Brandon Bobcats for a weekend double header November 4th and 5th before returning home the following week to host the Manitoba Bisons.