VANCOUVER – The No. 1 nationally-ranked Thunderbirds have just one more weekend of matches before the winter break, as they square off against the Winnipeg Wesmen on Friday, November 28, and Saturday, November 29.
Not only is this weekend the last chance to see the 'Birds in action until January, but Friday night is also the Thunderbirds' annual Pride Night! The action-packed doubleheader will feature some great volleyball as well as a prize raffle and in-game performances by drag artists Batty Banks and Acacia Gray.
The lobby at War Memorial Gym will also have booths and promotional games, with the chance to learn more about local organizations that provide support for LGBTQ+ individuals in the community. Fans are encouraged to dress colourfully and bring noisemakers to the gym to help cheer on the 'Birds!
To buy tickets for Pride Night, and to learn more about the event,
CLICK HERE.
"I think it's cool that our two volleyball programs get to be the stewards of this event and get to host it," said T-Birds head coach
Mike Hawkins on Pride Night. "I think it shows that volleyball is a really safe and inclusive sport for people, of all ages and all levels.
"It's great that we were able to host it on a weekend where we've got the Winnipeg Wesmen and their head coach Chris Voth, who's been an openly gay athlete when he was on the national team and now as a coach, and a great advocate for his community."
Voth is in his second season at the helm of the Wesmen, after leading the program to its first-ever Canada West title and being named U SPORTS Coach of the Year in his inaugural campaign.
The first half of this season has been more up-and-down, with the Wesmen sweeping Calgary last weekend to break a four-game losing streak and improve to 4-4.
After losing All-Canadian outside hitter Isaiah Olfert and starting setter Ben Traa at the end of last season, Winnipeg is now led offensively by the duo of Jaxon Rose and Luke Lodewyks on the outside. Tristan Arnold has taken over the starting setter role in the last three matches, recording 40+ assists in both of his team's wins over Calgary.
Easton Dick, last year's U SPORTS Rookie of the Year, leads the team in blocks as a steady presence in the middle, while libero Carson Brennan is tied with UBC's
Mason Greves for second in the conference in digs per set (2.17).
On the side of the T-Birds, it's been the same starting seven in each of the first eight matches, and six players have played in every set so far this season. That includes Greves, the outside hitter trio of
Reeve Gingera,
Gavin Moes and
Dawson Pratt, and the middle blocker duo of
Kieran Robinson-Dunning and
Alex Emery.
Emery and Robinson-Dunning have been hyper-efficient on offence, combining for 88 kills and just 10 attack errors between them, each only missing out on topping the Canada West hitting percentage leaderboards due to not having quite high enough attacking volume to qualify. On the defensive end, Robinson-Dunning is tied for third in the conference in blocks per set (1.17).
"They've been fantastic," remarked Hawkins on the two middles. "They could not be more different in their style – Emery is a bit of high-flyer while Kieran is just super efficient and really good with his decisions. It's such a layer to our offence that we honestly probably still don't utilize enough, but they're two guys that allow us to score at such high efficiency in the middle and force defences to pay attention to them.
"Honestly, the reality is that we have a full stable of middles in the gym every single day. So yes it's great that Kieran and Emery are playing well, but they're only playing well because they're pushed extremely hard every single day in practice."
The Thunderbirds have just one loss on the season so far, coming two weeks ago on the road against Trinity Western. The 'Birds then avenged that loss the next week at home with a thrilling five-set win over the Spartans, and are right up near the top of the Canada West standings with a 7-1 record.
Should the blue and gold pull through in their two matches against the Wesmen, it would be their best first half of a season since the 2017-18 campaign, when the T-Birds entered the winter break with an 11-1 record.
"I think it's everything," stated Hawkins on the importance of closing the calendar year strong. "We've done some good things so far this semester, and it's great to have the recognition of being the No. 1 team in the country for the majority of it, but at the end of the day we need to just keep moving forward.
"We want to make sure that we're finishing this semester playing the way that we want to, getting the results that we know we can earn, so that we can go into that Christmas break in a good place in the Canada West standings to set us up well for the second semester."
The Thunderbirds will play the first half of Friday's Pride Night doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. (PT). They'll then have a rematch against the Wesmen at 4:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, inside War Memorial Gym.
