Matchup

Although the No. 4 UBC Thunderbirds (18-4) are guaranteed to finish in the top three in the Canada West, there's still a lot to be determined in the playoff picture heading into the final weekend of conference play.

UBC will wrap up the regular season in front of a home crowd at War Memorial Gym with two matches against the Saskatchewan Huskies (9-13) Friday and Saturday, February 16 and 17.

The T-Birds are tied with UBC Okanagan for second place with the first-place Calgary Dinos just two points up and a mere four points separating the next five teams vying for postseason positioning.

Currently on a five-game losing skid, Saskatchewan is four points outside of the playoff picture with three berths to the postseason still up for grabs. The last time these two teams met came in last season's opening weekend where the Thunderbirds defeated the Huskies 3-0 and 3-2. 

First serve Friday is 6:00 p.m. PT while Saturday's regular season finale scheduled for 5:00 p.m. PT.

On Friday night fans are encouraged to celebrate a history of UBC Volleyball success by turning back the clock a few decades for Flashback Friday. Dust off your best vintage gear and come dressed in true 70's or 80's Flashback style.

http://gothunderbirds.ca/sports/2018/2/13/flashback-friday-2018.aspx?path=track

Last Action

UBC earned two big victories over the Trinity Western Spartans in a home-and-home split last weekend. The T-Birds took the first match in five sets in Langley before returning to War Memorial Gym for a 3-1 win and a series sweep. Olivia Furlan had 25 kills and a whopping 10 aces while Ciara Hanley earned 6 blocks. Alessandra Gentile totaled 73 assists.
 

CW Women's 3 Stars of the Week:
1) Godinez Gonzalez ????? (UFV)
2) Carpenter-Boesch ?? (REG)
3) Furlan ?? (UBC)
READ: https://t.co/jS44Btr7Dd …#TheNewWest pic.twitter.com/TobZY3JzL9

— Canada West (@CanadaWest) February 13, 2018

Saskatchewan dropped their fourth and fifth straight matches to Alberta (3-1, 3-1) two weeks ago, and are coming off a bye weekend as they look to extend their season with wins against UBC.
 

By the Numbers

1146 – The potent Thunderbird attack is tops in the country with 1146 total kills, 13.17 kills per set, while also scoring the most points in U SPORTS with a tidy 1,500 on the season so far.

206 – Saskatchewan has the most receiving errors in the Canada West with 206 and will be tested by a strong serving T-Bird team that averages 2.08 service aces per set. The 'Birds put up 27 total service aces over the course of last weekend.
 

Players to Watch

Alessandra Gentile (#17, Setter) – In her fifth and final season with the Thunderbirds, Gentile has consistently provided the UBC attack opportunities to flourish. Her 47 assists last Friday against Trinity Western was a season high giving her 768 on the season while averaging nearly 9 assists per set.



Ciara Hanly (#9, Middle) – The fourth-year middle blocker had 12 kills to go along with 6 blocks and 4 aces a week ago. She leads the 'Birds with 82 total blocks (also a team-high 15 solo blocks). Hanly also has the third-best hitting percentage on the roster at 0.287.
 

Coach's take

While the playoff standings are still up in the air, UBC head coach Doug Reimer says it's crucial to focus on execution in the final two matches.

"From our perspective, we need to try and do our best to try to do our job and see where we end up, which could be anywhere from first to third," said the veteran coach.



"Offensively we need to continue to try and get balance in our attack and have hitters finding a variety of ways to score points. Secondly, we need to continue to improve our blocking. Finally, our ability to serve tough consistently, I think we need to make that a focus."

Reimer expects a fascinating finish to the season against the Huskies. "We have so many teams, including Saskatchewan, who are still battling for playoff spots," added Reimer. "I have never seen so many aspects uncertain heading into the final weekend in the past twenty years."