The UBC Thunderbirds begin their 2022 schedule at home inside War Memorial Gym with a two-game series against the winless and well-rested Thompson Rivers University WolfPack. Action gets underway on Friday, January 14^th, at 6:00 p.m. (PST), with game two slated for Saturday, January 15^th, at 3:00 p.m. on the Point Grey campus.
 
In their last conference action, the 'Birds split a road series in Kamloops with the UBCO Heat back on December 3^rd and 4^th (3-0, 1-3) – entering the break with a 3-3 record in the Canada West. Claire Cossarini put up an impressive 11-kill, seven-block performance in the T-Birds' game one victory, as the second-year middle is second in the Canada West with a hitting percentage of .427. Cara Kovacs racked up 17 kills and four blocks in a tightly contested loss to close out the 2021 schedule, while third-year setter Kayla Oxland totalled 59 assists through seven sets on the weekend and is fourth in the conference with 9.26 assists per set.

"It is a challenge every year coming out of exams and the December break and into the first week of league play in January," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer in reference to the five-week holiday layoff from competitive action. "This year brings a few extra challenges including that teams couldn't play exhibition in early January due to Omnicron. I feel that in the past few days we have started to play with good energy and competitive emotion in training."



Though his squad played just six games in the first half of the season Reimer was pleased with the progression his young group had shown to close out 2021.

"We had been very solid passing and I thought that offensively we were starting to do some really good things.  We didn't have enough matches first term and worked through injuries but that also highlighted the depth that we have even if our lineup wasn't solidified."
 
The WolfPack (0-4) also faced UBCO in their last conference series a full two months ago and earned their first set victory of the season but fell to the Heat 3-0 and 3-1 in Kamloops and remain in search of their first Canada West win.

"They are a young team and unfortunately had their final matches of 2022 cancelled due to the flooding in the Fraser Valley so they have had a long break," added Reimer when asked about the visitors for this weekend. "They are well coached and  compete hard.  We will have to learn and adapt to their lineup and what they are doing as we go while putting a premium on our execution."
 
Both teams have found success at the service line, with UBC sitting at third in the conference with 1.96 service aces per set, while TRU's Koenn Sauer leads the Canada West with 0.67 service aces per set.
 
Games are streamed live on Canada West TV, with free tickets available if reserved in advance.