QUEBEC CITY – The UBC Thunderbirds showed some good fight in an attempt to battle back from a 2-0 set deficit but ultimately lost their U SPORTS semifinal to the Alberta Pandas in four sets (25-19, 27-25, 19-25, 25-15) Saturday night at Université Laval.
 
After dropping the first two sets, the 'Birds took ten of the last 13 points in the third for the convincing bounce back win, but last year's U SPORTS silver medallists proved too much for UBC in the fourth. The T-Birds will now attempt to finish their season with a medal for the second straight season when they face the Calgary Dinos in the bronze medal match on Sunday.
 
"There will be a lot of disappointment on, frankly, our lack of compete and execution that we knew we needed to bring, so I think there will be a lot of disappointment with our own performance," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "We didn't do a good enough job of refocussing and preparing and that's up to each individual."
 
It was a close start to the opening set until the Pandas managed to open up a 15-10 lead thanks to a strong Alberta attack that eventually powered them to a 25-19 win.
 
U SPORTS Rookie of the Year Kiera Van Ryk had five kills in the opening frame along with three service aces while credited with eight points. Van Ryk finished the match with 21 kills and five service aces, tops among all players on the court, while adding nine digs and a match-high 28 total points and was awarded UBC's Player of the Match.
 


Much like the first set, the second saw the two Canada West powerhouses go nearly point-for-point until Alberta took an 11-8 lead forcing UBC to use a timeout. The 'Birds were able to battle back and take a one-point lead at the technical timeout thanks in part to an Alessandra Gentile service ace, one of three on the night for the Thunderbird captain who also put up 36 assists.
 
However, the Pandas' attack was a little crisper and they took a 24-22 lead. But thanks to another pair of Van Ryk kills, the 'Birds took away set point, tying it at 24. The Pandas called a timeout which seemed to do the trick as Alberta eventually won the set by a 27-25 mark.
 
The third set started out just like the first two with neither side able to open up a lead. That is until Gentile executed two setter dumps while Van Ryk sent over another ace to give UBC a 13-9 lead. But that lead evaporated as the Pandas went ahead 16-15 at the technical timeout.
 
The 'Birds took the lead back at 22-19 leading to an Alberta timeout and then took the next three points to win the third 25-19 and force a fourth.
 


The Pandas opened up a 6-3 lead to start what turned out to be the final set, expanding to 13-7 thanks in part to a trio of UBC attack errors. Alberta held a six-point lead at the technical timeout as the 'Birds needed a big comeback to keep their championship defence alive, but it wasn't meant to be.
 
UBC will now face the Dinos in a rematch of last weekend's Canada West final after Calgary fell to the Ryerson Rams in the other semifinal. The bronze medal match is set for Sunday at 11:00 a.m. PT. with the 'Birds aiming to finish the national championship with a medal for the second straight year.
 
"That's one of the toughest matches to have to turn around and play for sure, so that's going to demand that we're very focussed," added Reimer. "You have to feel the loss for a little while but then be ready to turn around and I hope we give a better performance tomorrow than we showed today."
 
Alberta, meanwhile, will have a second crack at gold facing Ryerson after losing in last year's final to the Thunderbirds.