CALGARY – For the second straight year the UBC Thunderbirds are silver medallists after a four-set loss to the Calgary Dinos in the Canada West final match Friday night at Jack Simpson Gym.
 
The victory (25-21, 20-25, 25-22, 25-10) is the first conference championship for the Dinos since 2005 and will head to next weekend's U SPORTS national championship as the likely top seed.

The teams fought an impressive battle as the T-Birds totaled 52 kills to Calgary's 50. The Dinos managed a .296 hitting percentage with 41 digs while UBC hit .156 and 42, respectively.



Canada West Player of the Year Kate Pexman led the Dinos in kills pounding a match high 19 while also recording 10 digs and a .317 hitting percentage. Beth Vinnell added eight kills and eight blocks while Leah Shevkenek impressed with 40 helpers and eight digs. Rookie Kenzie Vaandering impressed with her performance registering five kills and a .556 hitting percentage to earn the Dinos' player of the game award.

Kiera Van Ryk paced the UBC Thunderbirds with 14 kills while Olivia Furlan added 11 kills and 10 digs. Alessandra Gentile notched seven kills and three blocks while Gabrielle Attieh and Anna Price added four kills apiece. Gentile also recorded 26 assists while Furlan added nine.

The first set was a back-and-forth affair as the teams found themselves tied 13-13 at the midway point with Furlan and Van Ryk notching kills for UBC while Amber Adolf and Pexman did the same for Calgary. The Dinos opened up a bit of breathing room, 17-15, off a Vinnell service ace, and extended their margin to 19-16 following a Jaylynn Moffatt kill. A kill by Pexman clinched the set for the Dinos, 25-21. 



The Thunderbirds opened the second set with an 8-3 advantage following stellar plays by Van Ryk and Gentile. The Dinos tried to catch up, closing in at 15-13 but were unable to get any closer than two. Van Ryk registered two more kills in the set while Danae Shephard added one. On the set clinching point, UBC capitalized off an attack error by Pexman and a kill by Furlan, taking it 25-20.

In a tightly-contested third set, the Dinos were neck-and-neck with the T-Birds as the teams met several times throughout, starting at 7-7. Vaandering made it a 10-10 affair while two Van Ryk kills were sandwiched around a Moffatt slam-down to put the score at 18-18. Double kills by Pexman forced the set point, and ultimately closed out play, 24-22. The Dinos finished the frame with 17 kills and just five errors for an attack percentage of .308, while the Thunderbirds battled out 15 kills and a .250.

The fourth and deciding set was pure Dinos domination as Calgary was able to go on a 9-1 run early on to pull out in front for good. Though UBC attempted to minimize the early deficit, Vinnell skillfully blocked their efforts and slammed down the deciding kill to snag gold for the Dinos, 25-10. 

Both the Dinos and Thunderbirds, along with the UBC Okanagan Heat and the Alberta Pandas, are now headed to the national tournament which opens Friday night at Laval University in Quebec City.