The UBC Thunderbirds (9-7) are aiming for a strong home court showing against the UBC Okanagan Heat (2-14) this weekend in a provincial rivalry series between the two UBC squads. Not only will valuable points be on the line in the Canada West standings, but it could also be the final head-to-head contest between the two Furlan sisters - setter
Olivia Furlan in her third year with the Thunderbirds, and libero Sophia in her fifth and final season with the Heat. Game 1 goes Friday at 6 p.m., while game two will wrap up the series on Saturday at 5 p.m. inside War Memorial Gym.
The T-Birds currently hold fourth place in the conference with 18 points, just two points up on a cluster of four schools all tied up with 16 points apiece. Each matchup down the stretch of the regular season will have plenty of playoff implications for the 'Birds in the jam-packed Canada West.
Last Action
UBC earned a split against the MacEwan Griffins at War Memorial Gym last weekend, dropping a tough five-set contest on Friday before bouncing back to win 3-1 on Saturday evening. The Thunderbirds showcased the depth of their roster as multiple players saw action in different positions throughout the series.
Jayde Robertsen stepped up with 15 kills to go with eight blocks and two service aces, while the libero tandem of
Laura Worsley and
Samantha Patko combined for 21 digs.
UBCO has lost their last six matches in a row, including a pair of road losses (3-1 & 3-0) at the hands of the Manitoba Bisons a weekend ago, and will be in search of their first road victory of the season.
Players to Watch
Olivia Furlan – (#2, Setter/Outside Hitter) – Furlan has been stellar as the starting setter for the T-Birds, averaging the most assists in the conference (593) and the second highest assists per set (9.56). The Calgary product also is second in the Canada West - behind teammate
Kiera Van Ryk - in both service aces (43) and aces per set (0.69).
Kiera Van Ryk – (#3, Outside Hitter) – The second-year Surrey, B.C. native tallied 38 kills over nine sets of action last weekend, and contributed seven service aces to maintain her spot atop the Canada West in both kills (286) and aces (48).
Coach's take
UBC head coach
Doug Reimer saw both the brilliance of his team when they were clicking, but also room for improvement in their series split with MacEwan.
"Last weekend was a bit of a continuation of some of our other matches in that we played some portions of each match at a very high level. Sometimes we were on fire offensively and from the serving line, but we continue to keep it 'interesting' by having big drops in our level of play for significant stretches. The real focus is on our recovery and resilience between points."
Reimer anticipates a hard hitting battle with the Heat this upcoming weekend.
"UBCO has a lot of talent, size and experience," said Reimer. "Offensively they have a number of players that they can go to including national team middle blocker Aiden Lea, fifth-year right side Ann Richards and first-year leftside Sydney Grills."
