VANCOUVER - The No. 2-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (2-0) are on to the Canada West Playoff semifinals after an impressive showing on Saturday night against the Regina Cougars (0-2).
At War Memorial Gym, the Thunderbirds completed the sweep of the best-of-three quarterfinals with a 3-0 win in Game 2 on Saturday, following up their 3-1 triumph from Friday night. The UBC win also earns a berth at the U SPORTS national championship for the defending champion Thunderbirds held in Quebec City, QC March 15-18.
Final set scores Saturday were 25-17, 25-14, and 25-14.
Olivia Furlan was a constant threat for the Thunderbirds, as the sophomore tied
Anna Price for a team-high nine kills, while coming within one ace of tying the conference all-time playoff record for aces in a single game with seven (Jaki Ellis, of the Alberta Pandas, had eight back in a 2012 match against UBC).
Price's nine kills were accompanied by a pair of her own aces, while
Kiera Van Ryk also notched eight kills and two aces. Fifth-year setter
Alessandra Gentile netted 22 assists and 11 digs.
The contest opened up with Regina taking a commanding 6-0 lead right out of the gate, as the Cougars got kills from Diana Lumbala, Kathleen Enns, and an ace from Ashlee Sandiford.
After a timeout the 'Birds got back on equal footing with a 7-1 run of their own, a streak that included two of Furlan's five opening-set aces.
Down 15-12, Furlan's next three aces came as part of an 8-0 UBC run that bridged the technical timeout, giving the 'Birds a 20-15 advantage heading into the frames final stages.
Price got into the back-line fun with a couple aces of her own to help close out the set, with Van Ryk dropping a pair of bullet kills to seal the 25-17 decision for the hosts.
In the second stanza, the 'Birds took a page out of Regina's first-set playbook, claiming a 5-0 lead early off two more Furlan aces and kills from Price and
Ciara Hanly. However, the 'Birds would never allow the Cougars to close the gap within three points.
The Thunderbirds were brilliant in the middle portion of the frame. Up 9-6, a 10-2 run that featured four kills from Furlan, a pair from Van Ryk and aces from
Alessandra Gentile and
Gabrielle Attieh put UBC firmly in control of both the set and match.
After claiming the second set 25-14, UBC took the third frame to demonstrate a well-balanced attack as they closed out the match and series.
Price was the star of that final set, racking up six kills, while Van Ryk, Attieh, and Furlan each had three. Van Ryk added two aces, while the 'Birds committed just five errors in their most efficient offensive set of the night.
UBC held Regina to just five kills and forced six Cougars errors in that frame, with Sandiford (six kills) and Lumbala (five kills) led the visitors' attack on the evening.
Thunderbirds head coach
Doug Reimer was pleased with his team's overall effort.
"After a bit of a shaky start I thought we did a great job," said Reimer. "We reduced our unforced errors compared to yesterday when we made way too many but still escaped and I think tonight the scoreboard reflects that sharper play."
Reimer also touched on the need to call his first timeout with his squad trailing 6-0 early in the first set.
"For us I think it's composure and hanging in there a little longer, I mean I don't think it was anything I said, I think they recognized they can't keep making errors that way," Reimer continued. "Then we had a lot of players doing the right things moving forward, including getting right back into it with
Olivia Furlan's serving which included five aces to help close out the set."
The Thunderbirds are set to host the No. 3-ranked UBC Okanagan Heat in the semifinals, with games set for Friday, March 2nd, Saturday, March 3rd, and if necessary, Sunday, March 4th at War Memorial Gym. Game times are still yet to be determined.
