The UBC Thunderbirds bounced back from a tough weekend of home losses to defeat the Thomson Rivers WolfPack in straight sets (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) at War Memorial Gym on Pride Night. The annual celebration included giveaways, promotional booths, games, and a spectacular drag performance by Acacia Gray.
"We use this event as a chance to reflect and educate," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "Sport has not always been particularly friendly or open to many marginalized groups and so it's really important that we are behind this. I like the fact that a lot of people come knowing it's gonna be a fun night and an enjoyable night, but with a purpose. Everybody should feel welcome here all the time, but I think sometimes it takes a special night to really emphasize that."
The first set was a neck-and-neck battle, with UBC edging out a 25-23 win after a clutch play by Trinity Solecki and a TRU error. UBC capitalized on an early lead in the second set and weathered a late TRU rally to secure a 25-18 win. The third set saw TRU fighting to stay in the match, but UBC's early cushion and a decisive kill by Lucy Borowski sealed the 25-21 victory, completing the sweep in front of an enthusiastic home crowd.
"Compared to last weekend we were a little we were a bit steadier," added Reimer when asked about the team's performance. "Lucy [Borowski] had a great night offensively for us with 18 kills, 31 attempts, and only one hitting error. Both of our middles, neither have huge amounts of experience, but they did a good job for us on the blocking front. I still think there were a lot of times we had chances to play steadier when we had leads and to push them because I know that group can play better."
The Thunderbirds and WolfPack traded points in the opening minutes of the first set as the teams started to get into the rhythm. As the set progressed, errors turned into kills, but the contention continued. Issy Robertshaw, Akash Grewal, and Lucy Borowski put up big points for UBC, while Rida Erlalitepe and Faith Christensen dominated on the other side of the net, but neither team was able to garner more than a single-point lead. The battle continued through to the end of the frame. At 23-23, Solecki went cross-court to earn set point, and a TRU attacking error ended the set in favour of the hosts at 25-23.
Grewal and
Emelie Silovs combined to pull UBC ahead 5-1 at the start of the second set. The Thunderbirds first shut down TRU with a block, followed by a Grewal bullet from the service line. After an error from the visitors, Silovs delivered back-to-back kills to solidify the UBC advantage. The game allowed very little margin of error, but with the stands beginning to fill, the Thunderbirds rose to the occasion. The home team continued to play with confidence, building a 22-11 lead. Just when it seemed as if the game was lost for TRU, Erlalitepe fired a huge hit, which propelled a five-point run for the visitors. The score remained tight but it was a Silovs block that ended the set 25-18 for the 'Birds, not quite as confident as they had started it.
The third set brought more of the same neck-and-neck action. What again had started as a comfortable set for the Thunderbirds, resulted in a tight contest between the teams. UBC generated a 7-1 cushion to start and maintained their lead throughout the set but were unable to shake TRU from their tail. The WolfPack got close to overtaking the 'Birds on several occasions, including back-to-back kills from Erlalitepe to make it a two-point game at 23-21, but the effort was not enough to keep the visitors in the race. Borowski earned set point with a signature kill, and the blue and gold took the final set 25-21.
The two teams are back at it again on Saturday, February 1, at 4:00 p.m. (PT) in War Memorial Gym.
