Vancouver – In the final game of their 2019-20 regular season, the UBC Thunderbirds (17-5) dispatched the scrappy Brandon Bobcats (13-10) 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 21-25, 26-24) to sweep the weekend series and finish in third place in Canada West. With the loss, Brandon will finish fourth in Canada West and will host a home playoff series.
UBC was led by
Nick Mickelberry and his 13 kills to go with four service aces and the always-steady play of setter
Zec Johnson, who finished with 25 assists.
The Bobcats were paced by outside hitter Elliot Viles and middle Mason Metcalf, who had 10 and nine kills respectively.
With final Canada West standings and playoff seeding already determined before first serve, UBC Head Coach
Mike Hawkins gave a hefty amount of playing time to the younger players on his roster.
``The pre-game chat was about how there wasn't internal motivation for this game, no standings or playoff seeding up for grabs, but it was about the internal motivation,'' said Hawkins. ``It was good to get some guys on the floor who might not usually get a lot of time. Those are the guys who come in day in and day out and work their tails off. It was good to get the win for them.''
In the early going, UBC was paced by the strong serving of Mickelberry, who recorded consecutive aces in the middle of the opening frame. The Thunderbirds never trailed and cruised to the 25-17 victory.
The second set saw the Bobcats jump out to a 13-7 lead, generally due to the strong play of Team Australia member, Viles. Metcalf was also a force in the frontcourt for the Bobcats, securing several points with a dizzying display of crosscourt kills.
But it was the serving of
Harrison Byrne that turned the tides for the Thunderbirds. The Thunderbirds recorded nine straight points with Byrne at the service line to take a 16-13 lead. They never looked back and went on to win the second set 25-22. Fittingly, the set was finished by a massive block courtesy of UBC middle
Jordan Deshane. The fifth year senior Deshane, finished with a very tidy stat line of 10 total blocks and four service aces. He was honoured for his UBC career before the match, and the ceremony put some fire into his teammates and coaching staff.
``It was important for us to play well for Jordan,'' explained Hawkins. ``I think tonight was a really good example of his transformation as a volleyball player. His first couple of years he was more of the offensive threat … he's transformed into a really good blocking middle.''
``I think what stands out for me is throughout my entire career is we've had a really deep team,'' said Deshane. ``It was nice to see that depth play out tonight, with guys finding their roles and the team getting the win.''
The Bobcats saved their best play for the third set, led once again by Viles and the inspired play of Jens Watt. Watt actually took a yellow card midway through the set for taunting the UBC players after delivering a massive kill. His exuberance inspired the Bobcats, who took the set 25-21, prolonging the evening at War Memorial Gym.
The fourth set was a somewhat of a scramble, including six lead changes and several service errors by both teams. Danny Aspenlyder righted the ship for UBC, with a strong show of skill from the service line and some timely kills. UBC would squeak out a 26-24 victory in the set and win their home and regular season finale at War Memorial Gym.
UBC will host the Winnipeg Wesman in the opening round of the Canada West playoffs beginning with a best of three series that gets underway next Thursday, February 20th. The Brandon Bobcats will play host to the Calgary Dinos in their Canada West quarter-final.
