VANCOUVER – It's the wild, wild west. Canada West, that is.
The conference is just as loaded as ever with five of the top 10 ranked teams in U SPORTS, a group that doesn't even include the 6-2 Thompson Rivers WolfPack or 7-3 Saskatchewan Huskies.
The 5-2 UBC Thunderbirds clock in at third in this week's national rankings, and are set to take on the 6-1 and fourth-ranked Trinity Western Spartans this Friday, November 21, at War Memorial Gym. The match is set for a special, 8:00 p.m. (PT) start, or later, if the schools' top-two ranked men's teams play another
five set thriller in their 6:00 p.m. (PT) showdown.
"It should be an exciting night overall, between our match and the men's side you have none of the four teams ranked lower than fourth in the country," noted UBC women's volleyball head coach
Doug Reimer. "You don't normally get a chance to see that many top teams in one night of volleyball."
It was the T-Birds who handed the Spartans their first defeat of the season last week, thanks to a high-powered offensive performance that saw them land 63 kills in just four sets of action.
"Against really good teams, we have to do lots of things well that may not always show up in the stat sheet," added Reimer. "Like how well are we serving, are we executing our block defence well. I think the number one thing for us was that our offence was humming, and that's a credit to all of the people on the court."
UBC is the highest-scoring team in the conference in both points per set (17.8) and kills per set (13.64).
Kylee Glanville has stepped up on the outside for the T-Birds of late, recording a combined 44 kills, 27 digs and nine blocks across her three starts.
Aimee Skinner has certainly passed her first few tests of Canada West action, sitting eighth in the conference in kills per set (3.22) and is second on the team in digs per set (2.33).
Lucy Borowski remains a star, and leads Canada West in total kills (106). In the three matches played since Grewal's injury she's tallied a total of 52 kills and just seven attack errors, while recording attack attempts at a higher rate than anyone else in the conference.
"Lucy is fully deserving of her Canada West Player of the Week Award," praised Reimer. "She really stood out in that first meeting with Trinity, and I also think both of our setters did a good job in that match in all respects."
The Thunderbirds have certainly played some high-level opponents these last few weeks, with this Friday's match concluding a run of six in a row against Manitoba, Thompson Rivers and Trinity Western, three teams with a combined 16-5 record.
Three of those losses have come at the hands of the T-Birds, who split their series against the Bisons and WolfPack and won their first match against the Spartans, with all of those matches going to at least four sets.
"You look at the number of good teams in Canada West and it means that there are always upsets," mused Reimer.
"Every week there are matches that don't go the way that the pre-season or even in-season ranking would suggests. You really don't know what position you're going to be in by the end. So all you can do is take care of what's immediately in front of you, don't look ahead, don't make assumptions about the out of town scoreboard."
UBC has had success against the Spartans recently, winning their last six matches in a row. That streak began with the fateful victory at home in the 2023 U SPORTS National Championship Final, one that snapped a run of five in a row won by Trinity Western – showing just how quickly things can flip.
The Spartans know how true that is, as they've bounced back from an underwhelming 8-12 season last year to now being right back in the national contender picture once again.
The veteran duo of Maryn Boldon and Kaylee Plouffe lead the way for the Langley outfit, with Boldon ranking second in the conference in kills per set (4.00) on a .326 hitting percentage, while also leading her team in digs per set (2.71). Second-year setter Tayana Dmitruk is in the middle of a breakout campaign, leading Canada West in assists per set (10.25).
"It's not like either team is really on the road in a matchup with Trinity," concluded Reimer. "We are so close to one another and regularly host each other through the pre-season.
"They know our gym well and will bring supporters, so we'd like to encourage our fans to come out and combat that, help us build up our home court advantage against a very good team!"
Playing just their third home match of the season after five in a row on the road, the T-Birds will look to make it three wins in a row when they begin their rivalry clash at 8:00 p.m. (PT) on Friday.
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