EDMONTON – The UBC Thunderbirds men's volleyball team fell 3-1 (17-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-20) in the deciding third game of its Canada West semifinal series at Alberta Sunday night at Saville Community Sports Centre.

With the win, second-seeded Alberta will advance to the one-game Canada West Final  next weekend, while also qualifying for the U SPORTS Championship. Meanwhile, the Thunderbirds will see their season come to an end, after going 17-5 during the regular season and 3-2 in the post-season.
 
Second-year outside hitter Michael Dowhaniuk led UBC with 15 kills, while third-year setter Ben Hooker added 37 assists.

Leading the way to victory was Bears first-year outside hitter Billy Johnstone, who finished the night with 12 kills, alongside third-year outside hitter Jackson Kennedy, who also had 12 kills. Fourth-year setter Max Elgert recorded 40 assists.
 
"The series as whole, I thought was a good battle. I liked the way we came out with some aggression in the first set," said Thunderbirds head coach Mike Hawkins. "Credit goes to the U of A; I though they really stabilized in their serve-receive and they are a really efficient team in their system."
 

It was all UBC in the first set, jumping out to a quick 5-1 lead, forcing Alberta to use both of their timeouts before the technical. However, the 'Birds would continue to roll to a 25-17 set win.
 
Looking to not drop a second-straight set, the Bears regrouped, exploding to a 7-2 lead early and found themselves up 16-12 at the technical timeout. UBC would come within a single point of the Bears multiple times throughout the set, but they were still unable to take the lead, with the Bears maintaining control and tying the game at one set apiece.
 
Leading the majority of the third set was UBC, before Alberta tied it at 14-all. Johnstone's kill down the middle would be the turning factor of the set, as the Bears took their first lead, 15-14. From then on, Alberta would not look back and another Johnstone's kill would position the Bears one set away from the conference finals.
 
It would be a rough start to the fourth frame, with three of four opening serves going into the net before either team could grab a hold of the set. It remained a back-and-forth battle throughout, as UBC fought to remain alive, but at the technical timeout it was the home squad with a 16-12 lead. Alberta would prevail, with George Hobern and Jordan Canham combining for the final block and sending the Bears to the conference finals.