The Matchup

 
With the playoffs just two weeks away, the UBC Thunderbirds and Trinity Western Spartans will meet in a split series beginning on Friday at the Langley Events Centre at 6:00 p.m. PT. The return match takes place at UBC on Saturday night with a 5:00 p.m. PT start for Pride Night at War Memorial Gym, encouraging inclusivity while celebrating a safe campus environment for everyone.

The T-Birds (16-4) are currently tied with UBCO for second in the Canada West with 32 points, while the Spartans are six points back in fourth place – just two up on Regina. Early last season Trinity Western topped the 'Birds 3-0 and 3-1 at War Memorial Gym, but the 'Birds avenged the two losses with a win over the Spartans in the Canada West Final Four (3-1) and at the U SPORTS National Championship in straight sets (3-0).


 

Last Action

UBC fell to Regina last Friday, losing in a tight fifth set (13-15), before storming back to win 3-1 in Saskatchewan against the fifth-seeded Cougars on Saturday. Kiera Van Ryk led the T-Bird attack with 32 kills over the weekend series, Olivia Furlan had 21 kills and 23 digs, Anna Price put up 20 kills with 30 digs and Gabrielle Attieh recorded 18 kills with nine blocks and 19 digs.
 
Trinity Western is coming off two straight losses to Calgary in Alberta, and have won two of their last six outings. Avery Heppell earned 20 kills and 9 blocks while Hilary Howe had 22 kills and 5 blocks in eight sets last weekend.
 

By the Numbers

 
3 – The T-Birds lead the nation in assists per set so far this season, as veteran setter and team captain Alessandra Gentile averages 8.88 assists per set. Gentile also has the fourth most assists in the Canada West with 613 to date.
 
3 – Trinity Western's Katelyn Devaney and Avery Heppell are one and two in the nation with the most blocks per set, averaging 1.56 and 1.44 respectively.


 

Players to Watch

 
Samantha Patko – (#2, Libero) –  In her fourth year with the Thunderbirds, Patko is tied for fifth in the Canada West with an average 3.58 digs per set and has also contributed 56 assists on the season. Just last weekend, the Kinesiology student had 45 digs and four assists in nine sets against the Cougars.
 
Olivia Furlan – (#12, Setter/Right Side) – The dynamic and well-rounded Furlan is second on the T-Bird roster with 2.31 kills per set and 180 total kills. The second-year Calgary native also has the second most digs (249) and digs per set (3.19) behind only Patko.


 

Coach's Take

 
UBC Head Coach Doug Reimer says one of the keys to a good performance against the Spartans starts on the defensive side of the ball.
 
"Trinity has a lot of offensive firepower and so we are going to have to be really good defensively. Some of that success starts with assertive serving to keep them out of offensive system as much as we can. Offensively for us we will be challenged with a strong block which demands good execution. We haven't seen them all year and it is great to be able to challenge ourselves as we head into the stretch drive."