For the second straight year, the UBC Thunderbirds open up their quest for another Canada West title facing the No. 10 Regina Cougars (16-8) in a best-of-three quarter-final series. But for the first time in five years, the 'Birds (15-9) begin their post-season on the road as they kick off their series in the Saskatchewan capital Thursday, February 21.

Last year, the T-Birds got past the Cougars in two straight en route to an eventual conference silver medal and a bronze medal finish at the U SPORTS national championship.



The 'Birds haven't played the Cougars since mid-November when they went into Regina and came away with the weekend sweep. Since then, UBC has seen the return of a pair of veteran middle blocker Ciara Hanly who enters her final playoff run with the Thunderbirds along with fellow graduating seniors Danae Shephard, Sam Patko, and captain Victoria Behie.

First serve for the first match of the series is 5:00 p.m. PT Thursday with the second match set for 5:00 p.m. PT Friday. The third and deciding match (if necessary) is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PT Saturday.
 

Last Action

The 'Birds suffered a series sweep in Calgary against the No. 3 Dinos to close out the regular season, snapping a seven-match win streak.



Regina enters the playoffs as the hottest team in the conference having won 10 straight matches after sweeping the Manitoba Bisons two weeks ago before closing out the regular season schedule with a bye.
 

Players to Watch

Kiera Van Ryk (#3, OH) – The 2018 U SPORTS Rookie of the Year finished her second year atop the Canada West leaderboard in kills (398), service aces (68), and points (489). The Surrey native's 68 aces are the second-most in a single season in Canada West history while her point total set a new UBC record as the third-highest ever recorded in the conference. 



Olivia Furlan (#2, S/OH) – The fourth-year from Calgary finished the regular season with 826 assists, the third highest total in the conference, along with 56 service aces, second only behind Van Ryk for the third-highest total in conference history.
 

Coach's Take

So much has changed for both the T-Birds and Cougars since they last played each other, and it could be argued this series will feature the two most improved teams throughout the course of the season.

"Regina has improved a lot since November, I would argue so have we," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "I expect a lot of high level volleyball to be honest."



Dropping both sets to the Dinos last weekend meant the 'Birds missed out on securing a home playoff berth, but it might have also provided some added motivation.

"The test is really how will we respond to the adversity and the challenge of that," said Reimer who expects fewer distractions and a healthier squad than what he had last week in Calgary. "Credit to Calgary, but not to be underestimated was physical health and mental stress coming into a reading week where a lot of players were writing exams even on the road. In my opinion that had an effect."