BRANDON, Man. –
Matt Neaves had a career-high 37 kills in a five-set marathon to lift the UBC Thunderbirds past the host Bobcats Friday night.
Neaves' had 11 kills through the first set, setting the pace for his record setting performance and spoiling the Bobcats home-opener by a final score of 3-2 (21-25, 26-24, 21-25, 25-23, 15-12).
The back-and-forth affair saw outstanding performances on both sides of the net, as the two teams traded leads through-out, thanks in large part to outstanding serves and great defence.
But it was Neaves' night from start to finish, as the fourth-year outside was electric all night.
The Calgary product's 37 kills came in large part to a large workload, registering 70 swings. Second-year setter Mason Greves led the match with 57 assists while also managing nine digs.
The Bobcats had three finish in double-figure kills, led by Tom Friesen's 11 while Rylan Metcalf and Philipp Lauter both finished with 10.
The win improves UBC's record to 2-1 while the Bobcats fall to 1-2.
The rematch goes Saturday back at the Brandon University Healthy Living Centre.
First serve is scheduled for 6:45 pm C.T.