After earning their first series sweep of the season, the UBC Thunderbirds (4-10) are back at War Memorial Gym to host the UBC Okanagan Heat (0-16) Friday and Saturday, January 18 and 19.

The T-Birds have welcomed key contributors Matt Neaves and James Takken back to their lineup from injury and are beginning to round into form as a cohesive unit. UBC is now four points back of a playoff berth with four crucial weeks left in the Canada West regular season, while UBCO is still in search of their first win, currently occupying last place in the conference.



In exhibition action between the two teams back in October, the 'Birds came away with a 3-2 victory over the Heat in Langley.
First serve Friday night is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT with Saturday set to underway at 6:30 p.m. PT.
 

Last Action

UBC hosted the MacEwan Griffins to get their 2019 campaign rolling last weekend, and did just that with a five set win on night one, followed by a 3-1 victory on night two to complete the sweep. Although the 'Birds faced a number of tough games and dips in momentum throughout the weekend, the back-to-back wins were a valuable confidence boost for the youthful squad. A pair of rookies led the attack for UBC as Michael Dowhaniuk and Matt Neaves each notched career highs in kills over the weekend. Dowhaniuk put up 28 kills on Saturday, finishing with 38 on the weekend, while Neaves had 20 kills on Friday and finished the weekend with 34.

UBCO has already played four matches in 2019, winning just two games in total. The Heat fell in straight sets on back-to-back nights to Calgary (7-7) before dropping a pair of 3-1 decisions last weekend to the Manitoba Bisons (6-8). UBCO did earn an exhibition win over the Winnipeg Wesmen (5-9) at the Warrior Tournament on December 30, earning a 3-2 result in Waterloo. The Heat's libero, Eli Risso, leads the Canada West in both digs (145) and digs per set (2.90).
 

Players to Watch

Joel Regehr (#9, Middle) – The fifth-year middle dropped eight aces against MacEwan last weekend and added 11 kills with four blocks in the sweep. His 17 aces on the season are tops on the T-Bird roster, and the most senior Thunderbird is a constant source of leadership for the young squad.



Jordan Deshane (#8, Middle) – In his third season with UBC, Deshane leads the team in total blocks with 45 and is third on the roster with 92 kills to date. The middle tallied 15 kills and 11 blocks in nine sets of action against MacEwan.
 

Coach's take

"It was important for us to start our second semester off strong coming off a busy Christmas exhibition break," said UBC head coach Mike Hawkins. "I thought we performed well against MacEwan and faced adversity in both matches, but were able to push through some setbacks and pick up the results. Though lessons sometimes get lost in the joy of victory, we were happy the guys picked out clear items we learned throughout the weekend that we can take with us moving forward. I said it before, to climb the mountain we need to take things step by step, and this past weekend we took two big steps forward."



Coach Hawkins is preparing his team to focus on their own side of the net against the Heat while continuing to improve on the things they can control.

"UBC Okanagan has had a tough start to the season but we would be foolish to take them lightly. They have played a lot of their opponents tough and have a roster where they can put different guys in different positions to try and attack opponents' weaknesses. We faced them in October at the Blue Team Cup and were able to fight hard for a five set victory, and we are preparing for that same level of fight from this young Heat team."