VANCOUVER - The No. 5 UBC Thunderbirds (9-3) will look to keep their eight-match winning streak alive as they return from winter break for a road series with the MacEwan Griffins (2-10) on Friday, January 10, at 6:30 p.m. PT and Saturday, January 11, at 5:30 p.m. PT in Edmonton.
The 'Birds entered the break with an impressive sweep of the Alberta Golden Bears to take over third place in the Canada West heading into the second half of the regular season.Â
UBC dominated the service line in the first semester, racking up a conference-high 2.47 aces per set, while also earning the second most points with an average of 16.9 per set. Coltyn Liu led the T-Birds with 0.91 aces per set and Matt Neaves averaged a team-high 3.28 kills per set. Second-year middle Gerard Murray is fourth in the Canada West with 43 total blocks and tops UBC with an average 1.00 blocks per set through the first twelve matches.
Last Action
The Thunderbirds took on Alberta (8-4) in Edmonton to close out their 2019 schedule with a massive 3-0, 3-0 upset sweep of the Golden Bears over the weekend series. UBC cranked 16 aces over six sets (compared to two total aces by Alberta) and outpaced the Golden Bears from top to tail to leapfrog the home team in the standings and cruise into the holidays with eight consecutive victories.Â
MacEwan snapped a 10-match losing slide in their final series of 2019 - bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat at the hands of the Saskatchewan Huskies (7-7) to take a 3-0 win the following evening on the road. Fifth-year Griffin Max Vriend is currently third in the Canada West with 3.97 kills per set and averages the third most points per set with 4.6.Â
Coach's TakeÂ
"I'm looking to see the same hunger and desire that our team showed throughout the first semester," said UBC head coach Michael Hawkins, as his team prepares for their first match in over a month. "Given the fact that we start semester two jumping right into meaningful matches, we don't have time to work our way into rhythm. We've been really deliberate in our training since we came back from holidays and I expect a high level of energy from our guys this weekend."
Hawkins knows the Griffins are capable of playing to a higher level than their record shows.  Â
"I've been saying since the start of the season that MacEwan is a good team and will cause problems for their opponents," said Hawkins. "Vriend has been a baller since he got in the league and has the ability to take over any game. He's big and physical on the defensive end and pairs that with a really powerful attack. It's going to take a strong team effort from our guys to mitigate Max's impact on the matches and to assert our style on this Griffins team."
