Matchup
A spot in the Canada West Final is up for grabs this weekend at War Memorial Gym when the second-seeded UBC Thunderbirds host the three-seed UBCO Heat in a best-of-three semifinal bout beginning Friday at 6:00 p.m. PT. Game two goes Saturday evening at 6:00 p.m. and, if necessary, a deciding game three will be Sunday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. In the new playoff format, the winner of this extra weekend series will advance to a winner-take-all Championship game - and the extended grind to repeat as National Champions is a challenge the T-Birds are ready to take on in full force on home court.
"For this year I love it because we get this weekend at home and hosting with the men as well it should make for some great volleyball," says UBC Head Coach
Doug Reimer. "Looking ahead we know the following weekend we will either play a one match Can West final or get a rest weekend heading into Nationals so I like that as well."
These two teams last met to open the 2017-2018 season when the rival BC squads traded 3-1 victories in Kelowna. In their first win of the season, the 'Birds fell in the first set 18-25 before storming back in the next three sets (25-18, 25-18, 26-24) for a commanding road victory.
Kiera Van Ryk,
Gabrielle Attieh and
Olivia Furlan each reached double digits in kills and
Alessandra Gentile had 39 assists in the win. Night two unfolded a bit differently when the Thunderbirds edged out a first set win 25-23, but saw the hometown Heat rally in a lengthy second set to take it 29-27 and win the next two sets 25-14 and 25-22 for their first win of the season. There was little separating the closely matched UBC teams three months ago, and Coach Reimer knows the Canada West semifinal is sure to show much of the same this weekend.
"I think we have shown great resilience over the season. I believe we have grown and matured as individuals, on and off the court that has made our team stronger and capable of dealing with adversity. We should have confidence that we can compete in tough situations as head towards playing the top teams in the country."
Last Action
The T-Birds stormed through the No. 7 Regina Cougars in the Canada West quarter-finals last weekend with 3-1 and 3-0 victories on home court to get one step closer to their ultimate goal. UBC smacked 22 service aces - lead by Furlan's season-high 7 aces - and 93 kills over seven sets, while libero
Samantha Patko earned 32 digs in the series win. UBCO swept the No. 6 Manitoba Bisons 3-1 and 3-1 in week one of the playoffs to advance to this week's semifinal with a 28-kill weekend by Siobhan Fitzpatrick.
By the Numbers
1236 – UBC's attack was at the forefront of their success all year, as they lead the nation with 1236 kills and average 13.15 kills per set. Van Ryk had 881 total attacks and tallied a team-high 352 kills in her rookie year.
0.233 – The Heat displayed a highly efficient offence this season, and finished the Canada West regular season with the highest hitting percentage (0.233) in the conference. Middle blockers Erin Drew and Aidan Lea each averaged over 33% hitting on over 300 total attacks, and setter Sara McCreary lead all of U SPORTS with 10.22 assists per set.
Players to Watch
Olivia Furlan – (#12, Right side/setter) – Furlan kicked off this postseason with an impressive 19 kills, 9 aces and 20 digs against the Cougars last week. The 5'11 Arts major entered her second playoff run with the Thunderbirds second on the team with 224 kills, 37 aces and 299 digs.
Ciara Hanly – (#9, Middle) – The fourth-year middle had the fourth-highest hitting percentage in the Canada West (0.303) and lead the 'Birds with 90 total blocks in the regular season. Hanly put up 13 kills, 3 aces and 5 blocks in the quarter-finals a week ago.
Coach's take
Coach Reimer knows the little things will go a long way against the Heat for the T-Birds to advance to the Canada West Finals.
"They have a well-balanced, physical line up that will force us to be at our best offensively and defensively. Our level of execution is going to have to be very good...tough serving and a balanced offense. We will need to limit the number of unforced errors because they will earn points and we can't give them help."
