QUEBEC CITY – The UBC Thunderbirds used an accurate attack and some outstanding defensive play in defeating the Calgary Dinos in four sets (27-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-16) to claim U SPORTS bronze at the national championships Sunday afternoon at Université Laval.
After splitting the first two sets, the Thunderbirds dominated the third and fourth taking early leads in both and never looking back. The 'Birds boasted a .268 hitting percentage in the third and closed out the match with a .297 in the fourth, led by U SPORTS Rookie of the Year
Kiera Van Ryk who finished with a match-high 20 kills and 23.5 points along with seven digs and five blocks.
"I'm pretty proud of this group," said UBC head coach
Doug Reimer who closed out his 20th tournament appearance with UBC with yet another piece of hardware. "When you look back to the start of the year we had lots of turnover, a whole bunch of injuries, and to come out and finish third in the country is a pretty impressive achievement for this group and they should be proud."
As UBC's only graduating player, captain
Alessandra Gentile finished with 45 assists and 10 digs in what was an emotional final U SPORTS match for the fifth-year setter.
"I'm really proud of this team, I think we showed a lot of resilience this season as a whole and to come out with a bronze medal is really nice," said Gentile. "We've battled through a lot of injuries and adversity and I'm really, really proud of this group of girls."
The first set saw the Dinos start strong from the service line with aces on both their first two attempts, but neither side was able to pull away from the other with the T-Birds holding the slightest of edges at 16-15 at the technical timeout.
The lead changed several times throughout the second half of the opening set with the Dinos holding a 22-21 edge. But some strong play at the front of the net by Van Ryk and
Victoria Behie kept the 'Birds in the tight frame. After the Dinos tied it again at 25, the 'Birds got back to set point and Van Ryk's eighth kill handed UBC the 27-25 win.
Calgary stormed back in the second to take an 8-4 lead before the 'Birds used their first timeout. UBC battled back within one at 10-9 but Calgary pulled away again for a four point lead at the technical timeout. The break seemed to help the Thunderbirds who took the next four points to even the score at 16. But it was the Dinos who pulled away for good, taking the second set 25-19, evening the match at one apiece.
Just as the Dinos came out firing in the second, the third set saw the 'Birds get out to a quick 8-3 lead. The Dinos chipped away but UBC still held a four point advantage at the technical timeout. Calgary got as close as two points, but the T-Birds finished strong for the 25-19 win.
Smelling victory, the 'Birds kept momentum on their side to start the fourth set taking another 8-3 lead. UBC kept the pedal down and a
Danae Shephard service ace increased the edge to 13-6 as the T-Birds were up 16-7 at the set break.
Gentile executed another setter dump followed by a Furlan kill to make it 21-12 'Birds as the Canada West silver medallists came a little closer to clinching victory. On match point at 24-16 it was none other than Van Ryk who sealed the bronze for UBC with her 20th kill. Van Ryk's stellar performance throughout the tournament earned her a spot on the championship all-star roster closing out a memorable week for the first-year Thunderbird.
"We played for each other today," said fourth-year middle
Ciara Hanly who was named UBC's Player of the Match with 10 kills, two blocks, and a .300 hitting percentage. "We were pretty disappointed with how we executed yesterday, so to be able to come out strong today and execute the way we did, I'm definitely proud of us and how we rallied."
"On this team, it's not just one leader, a lot of girls have stepped up," added Gentile. "Sam Patko really stepped up,
Ciara Hanly, so has Liv (Furlan),
Kiera Van Ryk, a lot of girls have really stepped up."
The bronze gives UBC medals at back-to-back national championships to go along with last year's gold while the T-Birds have now medalled in nine of the last 11 tournaments.
