As the regular season winds down, the UBC Thunderbirds (11-7) are rounding into form as they travel to Langley to face the top-ranked Trinity Western Spartans (16-0) on Friday at 6:00 pm and Saturday at 5:00 pm. UBC has won four of their last five matches - a streak that has kept them in fourth place in the Canada West standings, just one win ahead of Regina (10-8) for the chance to host a playoff series next month. The undefeated Spartans have already clinched their playoff berth, while also having two games in hand on the majority of the conference.

?? WVB | A great performance tonight by @ubcwvb1! The 'Birds earned a convincing 3-0 (25-16, 25-14, 25-17) victory vs. @UBCOHeat and improve to 11-7 in their @CanadaWest season.#GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/9kkbzgIrwL

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) January 20, 2019

 

Last Action

 
UBC swept the UBC Okanagan Heat without dropping a set last weekend, winning 3-0 & 3-0 at home inside War Memorial Gym. The Thunderbirds showed a balanced attack with multiple players making an impact in the sweep.
 
Trinity Western has lost just 13 sets over their 16 wins to date, including a 3-1 & 3-0 home victory over the Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack last week. Outside hitter Hilary Howe totalled 32 kills over the series sweep, while the Spartans earned 37 total blocks through seven sets. The undefeated squad averages the most blocks per set (2.82) and have the most total blocks (172) in the Canada West with middle blocker Mikaelyn Sych leading the conference in all blocking categories.


 

Players to Watch

 
Tessa Davis – (#12, Middle/Outside Hitter) – The fourth-year University of Toronto transfer has played in 62 of the Thunderbirds' 68 sets to date, and has a team-high .338 hitting percentage with 269 total attacks. Davis earned 14 kills with just two attacking errors in six sets of action against UBCO - adding four total blocks.
 
Victoria Behie – (#5, Outside Hitter) – As captain of the T-Birds in her fifth and final season with UBC, Behie has the third most kills (107), service aces (23) and digs (109) on the team.


 

Coach's take

 
"It was great to get back to back 3-0 wins last weekend," said UBC Head Coach Doug Reimer. "Saturday was probably one of our steadiest efforts of the year with the best offensive balance to date. It was great to play that way as we get prepared for a tough upcoming weekend and I know our team is excited for the test."
 
Reimer knows a tilt with the U Sports No. 1 ranked Spartans will be a true test for his team on the road. "TWU is obviously having a great season and have a lot of firepower in all positions and so we will have to be very good in all areas defensively and that starts with our ability to serve the ball well. They are a strong blocking team with size and we will have to match that with assertive and smart attacking."