VANCOUVER – Pride Night was a success both on and off the court for the UBC Thunderbirds (12-3), who took down the Thompson Rivers WolfPack (4-11) in straight sets (25-14, 25-22, 25-23).
After a dominant first set victory the T-Birds withstood a hard fight from a tenacious TRU side in the next two. A crowd of around 1,400 fans were inside War Memorial Gym to cheer on the 'Birds, and head coach
Mike Hawkins credited the environment they created as a boost that helped improve his team to 8-0 at home this season.
"The setup of the gym – you feel like the crowd is right on top of you, so for us that's obviously very uplifting and I think for our opponents it's daunting," said Hawkins. "When you've got a full house and a boisterous crowd like we had tonight you feel that, and that affects the match. We're grateful for our fans and for the environment, and kudos to the guys for taking advantage of it."
Gavin Moes continued his torrid run of form with 16 kills, four digs and two aces on a .378 hitting percentage.
Kieran Robinson-Dunning recorded seven kills, three digs and three blocks while
Mason Greves dished out 36 assists to go with 10 digs and two blocks.
Matthew Hamilton notched an efficient 11 kills for the visitors. Sam Flowerday also had a strong performance with nine kills, five digs and three assists.
The Thunderbirds got out to an early 5-1 lead in the first set, which turned into a 9-4 advantage. Rylan Ibbetson landed consecutive kills to cut into the deficit, but the Thunderbirds responded with another big run.
Back-to-back powerful aces from Moes made it 20-11, putting the set out of reach.
Alex Borowski ended it at 25-14 with a powerful kill, capping a great performance in the opening stanza.
The second set initially looked like it could be more of the same, with the T-Birds gradually pulling ahead. The blue and gold went up by as much as 17-11 before the WolfPack suddenly found their footing, scoring five points in a row with Flowerday firing an ace to make it a one-point lead.
The battle remained tight from there. Tied at 21, the set was very much hanging in the balance, and it was the home team who came up with the clutch points to close it out. A 4-1 run including big kills from Robinson-Dunning and Moes finished it off and put the Thunderbirds one set away from victory.
Knowing that it was now or never for them, the WolfPack came out with energy in the third and scored the first two points of the set. The Thunderbirds tied up the score at 3-3, and from there the fans were treated to 18 straight ties, with neither team earning a two-point lead until a Flowerday kill made it 22-20 for TRU.
From there, however, the T-Birds went on another late run. It was led by Moes, who ended his great night with a pair of kills and a solo block to score three of UBC's final four points.
"He's a hell of a player," said Hawkins about his star outside hitter. "I think there's plenty more opportunities for him to expand his shot arsenal and his decision-making, but he steps up when we need him to…he's an incredible athlete and a great teammate. When the lights shine the brightest, he plays his best."
The Thunderbirds and WolfPack will face off again on Saturday night. That match begins at 6:00 p.m. (PT) at War Memorial Gym.
