After an extended holiday break the UBC Thunderbirds return to action on the road to open the 2019 portion of their Canada West schedule with back to back games in Calgary, ALTA. this weekend facing the Mt. Royal Cougars.
 
It all begins on Friday, January 4 with a 5:00 p.m. PT start followed one night later on Saturday, January 5 with first serve just after 4:00 p.m. PT at Kenyon Court.
 
The last time the 'Birds and Cougars went head-to-head, UBC earned back-to-back victories of 3-0 and 3-2 just over a year ago in Calgary.

?? WVB | Down by 8 earlier in the 2nd set, @ubctbirds made a huge comeback to win the set 25-22 vs. @HuskieAthletics! It's a 2-0 lead for the 'Birds thanks to another set point by @kieravanryk.#GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/TUM1ngA1gR

— UBC Thunderbirds / @UBCTBirds (@ubctbirds) November 25, 2018

 

Last Action

 
The T-Birds (7-5) concluded the 2018 portion of the schedule on a role in winning four straight games heading into the holiday break. This included sweeping a weekend series against the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies 3-0 and 3-0 on November 23 and 24. Kiera Van Ryk combined for 39 kills and 45 points in the victories which helped her cause in later claiming the Canada West women's athlete of the month for November.
 
The Cougars (6-6) who sit just behind the T-Birds in the standings will be looking to keep pace with the visitors. In their last action before the break MRU came away with a home court weekend split that saw the Regina Cougars sweep the Friday night meeting 3-0 before Mt. Royal rebounded the next night with a 3-0 sweep of their own.


 

Players to Watch

 
Kiera Van Ryk (#3, Outside Hitter) – Van Ryk is having a stellar sophomore season and leads the Canada West in several statistical categories, including Kills with 207, and kills per set with 4.50. Van Ryk also leads CW with 34 service aces and service aces per set at 0.74.
 
Olivia Furlan (#2, Setter, Outside Hitter) – The third-year Calgary native is having yet another very impactful season and also finds herself near the top of some Canada West statistical categories. Furlan sits second overall with 31 service aces and service aces per set 0.67. Furlan also sits in second spot in CW with 9.93 assists per set.


 

Coach's Take

 
"Without question we got progressively better towards the end of the term and played really quite well on that last weekend," said T-Birds head coach Doug Reimer referencing his squads four-game winning streak heading into the break. "So, if it wasn't for exams and the holiday season it would have been good to keep playing. We'll have to be cognizant of rust that has built up over the break, I've seen matches in the first week of January that look worse than the first league matches of the year because you're in less of a rhythm than you would be after a planned preseason. So, a lot of this first weekend will be how we handle some mistakes and being patient without overly focusing on how long it's been since actual game action."

Reimer also previewed what he expects from the Cougars.
 
"They're looking for increased consistency of play, much like many of the teams in our league," added Reimer. "At their best, they're a very aggressive team and that is noticeable in both their offence and in how well they can block and defend so we have to manage those ups and downs and play through that.