VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds bounced back to earn their first victory of the season in a convincing 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-22) win over the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades at War Memorial Gym Saturday night.
 
"I think given the obvious disappointment from last night we did a good job refocusing especially in the first two sets," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer after earning a home opening series split with the Cascades. "I thought Fraser Valley played better in the first half of set one tonight than they did last night, but we were a little more dialed in and made the adjustments that we failed to make yesterday."
 
Cara Kovacs had a team-high 13 kills for the T-Birds to go along with two aces and seven digs, Courtney Hillier put up 12 kills and seven digs, while Claire Cossarini led the 'Birds with five block assists and added eight kills in the win.
 

?? WVB | @ubcwvb1 enjoy a straight sets victory 3-0 (25-18, 25-14, 25-22) to close out their weekend series 1-1 vs @UFVCascades! #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/hFDrICgIfe

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) November 14, 2021

"I think we just went into today with a game plan and stuck with it," said third-year Thunderbird Kacey Jost. "We knew what we had to do. I think we got all our nerves out in the first one and we came in and didn't underestimate what they could do, they scrapped really hard yesterday. We went back to the video room, we figured out where we went wrong and what we needed to do better, and we just stuck to that game plan throughout the match, and it went really, really well. Yesterday, regardless of the outcome, we were just so grateful to be back and have people around and be able to play and compete again, we just had to take a step back to realize how lucky we are to be able to compete again. I get goosebumps just thinking about it."
 
Grace Warkentin tallied eight kills for UFV, and Sadie Wilson had six kills with eight digs as the Cascades fell to 1-3 in their first full Canada West season.


 
In the first set, Hillier cranked a kill from the right side to put the 'Birds up one and Kovacs followed it up with an ace at 6-4. Olivia Hardy-Francis responded with a kill and an ace to make it a one-point game yet again, and the Cascades tied it up at 8-8. With the set knotted up at 12-12, Kovacs earned a block and a kill before Hillier and Cossarini each smacked a kill for a four-point advantage at the technical timeout. Another Kovacs block at 18-12 UBC forced a UFV timeout that proved effective as the Cascades came out of the break on a 3-0 run. Setter Cailin Bitter cut the deficit to three with a crafty tip at 21-18 T-Birds, but the home squad continued to attack well and took the set 25-18 with an attack error from UFV.
 
Sadie Wilson put the Cascades on the board in the second set at 4-1 UBC and the visitors tied it up at 7-7 with a Kristen McBride ace. Kayla Oxland crushed a kill for a three-point edge at 11-8 'Birds and Kovacs lifted UBC into the technical timeout up 16-10. An Oxland ace made it 19-10 Thunderbirds and Courtney Hillier stretched the lead to 10 with a kill. Laura MacTaggart earned a block at 23-14 UBC and Jost dropped an ace to give the T-Birds a set point they converted at 25-14.


 
There was little separating the two teams in a tight third set until Sadie Wilson served up an ace for a two-point edge that the visitors carried into the technical timeout up 16-14. The T-Birds fought back and took the lead with a Kovacs kill at 18-17 before Hillier gave UBC a two-point edge at 21-19. Trinity Solecki served an ace for a three-point advantage at 23-20, and Kovacs set up a match point with a kill at 24-22 that Cossarini closed out at 25-22.
 
"Our team's development is going to be exciting," said Reimer as UBC continues to find their form with new key roster additions. "I think playing conference games this weekend will motivate us in training so we can be more dialed in for the areas we need to improve in. It's exciting to finally play league matches since we can start to learn as individuals how to prepare and where we need to be with our mindset. How do we play with composure and play well for a long period of time? Those will be our challenges moving forward."
 
The Thunderbirds will head out on the road to face the Trinity Western Spartans in Langley on November 26^th and 27^th, while the Cascades return home to host the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack in two weeks time.