VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (5-4) went toe-to-toe against the U SPORTS No. 1-ranked Trinity Western Spartans (9-0) inside a sold-out War Memorial Gym but came up short in four tight sets to the division leaders. UBC earned a thrilling 30-28 first-set victory before dropping an evenly matched second set 29-27, then fell 25-13 in the third. The T-Birds regrouped in the fourth set and came out firing, but the Spartans kept pace and eventually took the set 25-23.
"I thought we showed a good fight," said UBC head coach
Mike Hawkins. "We forced them to play well, but a few really controllable plays were the difference. We over-passed some free balls and there were balls we played over that went against our game plan. We knew that service pressure was going to be what dictated this game, and particularly in that last set there were a few untimely service errors – all things we've been working on and things we can control."
Matt Neaves put up a season-high 20 kills for the 'Birds,
Michael Dowhaniuk added 10 kills, and
Coltyn Liu had seven kills with two aces and 10 digs in his return to the lineup. First-year middle
James Vincett tallied nine blocks with three kills and three digs in his first appearance of 2022 for the Thunderbirds.
Brodie Hofer totalled 20 kills with three aces and seven digs, Jackson Howe had nine kills, and Mathias Elser had six kills with two aces and 12 digs in the victory.
The Spartans jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the first, but a monster ace by Neaves brought UBC within two and Liu made it one-point game with a kill. The two teams traded points through to a 21-21 tie until Dowhaniuk crushed an ace that forced a TWU timeout. Hofer came out of the timeout with a kill and the back-and-forth battle continued late into the first frame. Knotted up at 28-28, TWU committed an attack error and Vincett earned a huge block to capture the first set 30-28.
Hofer went on a serving run to start the second and the Spartans held a 4-1 lead that they extended to 8-3 with a block from Derek Epp. The T-Birds trailed by four after a Liu kill at 13-9 and Vincett made it a three-point deficit at 14-11, but the visitors took a 16
-12 advantage into the technical timeout. UBC fought back as Vincett and Neaves recorded a block apiece to make it 20-19 Spartans and Neaves kept the 'Birds within one on a kill at 22-21. Another Neaves kill – this time down the line – completed the T-Bird comeback and tied the set at 22-22. Even at 27, Hofer capitalized on an over-pass and Jesse Elser closed out the second set for Trinity Western – 29-27.
TWU earned a 10-4 lead in the third set on a Mathias Elser ace before Neaves made it 11-7 with a back row kill, but the visitors carried a 16-11 lead into the break after a T-Bird service error. The Spartans extended their cushion to double-digits on a Hofer kill at 22-12 before winning the set on a Jordan Schnitzer ace at 25-13.
The Thunderbirds came out strong in the fourth set and led 8-5 after a Liu ace before
Gerard Murray made it 9-5 with a block. Liu lifted the 'Birds to a 17-13 lead on another ace, and UBC maintained a two-point edge after Dowhaniuk ended a marathon rally at 18-16 and again at 20-18. A Hofer kill tied it up at 20-20 and the teams traded blows through to a 23-23 tie. A UBC attack sailed long to give the Spartans a match point that they converted on an ace at 25-23.
"It was just the little things tonight," said Hawkins. "We know they're controllable, which can give us some confidence heading into tomorrow…but it stings a little bit right now.
UBC and TWU will take to the court for a sold-out rematch on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. (PT) with all the action streaming live on Canada West TV.
Match highlights
