VANCOUVER – After a weekend split in Saskatoon to begin 2026, the No. 3 nationally-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (9-3) return to War Memorial Gym for a pair of matches against the MacEwan Griffins (5-7) on Friday, January 16 and Saturday, January 17.
All wins and losses are crucial at this stage of the season, with how crowded the Canada West standings are. Every team in the conference has at least two losses, and while the T-Birds currently boast the third-best record, they're just two wins back of first and two losses ahead of seventh.
The Griffins, meanwhile, are fighting to secure their place in the postseason. After a 1-5 start to the campaign they've since rattled off four wins in their last six matches, including their biggest victory of the season – a five-set thriller over Saskatchewan in the final match before the winter break.
"They're in the hunt, they're going to be battling every week because they're fighting for a playoff spot," mused UBC head coach
Doug Reimer. "We've got to do our job in preparation for them, and we've got to also focus on our side of the net and clean up some things that have cost us.
"Our challenge right now is to play good volleyball for a longer period of time. Our high end I think has been really good, and we have to stay focused on maintaining that for however long a match may go."
Someone who has certainly played some good volleyball in recent matches is
Kylee Glanville, who has taken the opportunity to be a regular starter and run with it. She's recorded 10+ kills in all eight of her starts this season, and 10+ digs in five of them.
Glanville was also just named Canada West Player of the Week for the first time in her career after recording a combined 37 kills, 25 digs and three aces in the two matches against the Huskies last weekend. Her kills per set average as a starter (3.33) would be seventh-best in Canada West if it was done over the whole season.
"What we've asked is basically a shift in position," said Reimer on the fourth-year outside hitter. "She's playing right side now, and she's been a really good and dynamic attacker. She's embraced it and attacks the ball with pace and aggression. We've been able to utilize her both front row and back row, and she has a great serve."
This weekend will mark just the fifth and sixth times that the T-Birds and Griffins have faced off in regular season action since 2020. UBC won each of those previous four meetings, and is 11-5 all-time against MacEwan in conference play.
First serve for Friday's match is set for 5:30 p.m. (PT), followed by 4:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday.
Tickets are available online and the matches are also streamed both live and on demand on
Canada West TV.
