VANCOUVER – Playing their first home match of the new year, the UBC Thunderbirds (12-1) took care of business against the MacEwan Griffins (0-13), defeating the visitors in straight sets (25-19, 25-15, 25-16).
Despite playing with a somewhat depleted lineup due to various injuries, the Griffins acquitted themselves well and put together runs in each of the sets. Daylan Laszlo led the way for the visitors with a career-high 10 kills along with four digs and two blocks
"Credit to MacEwan, I thought they did a good job of controlling their first contact and getting good shots off," said UBC head coach Mike Hawkins. "I think that caused a bit of frustration, but once we settled in I think we understood how we could score and what was available."
Dawson Pratt had a great performance for the T-Birds with 11 kills, five digs and two blocks. UBC also had some younger players draw into the lineup with Alex Borowski making his second start of the season and Danny Cravioto-Ross his first.
Both players played very well, with Borowski landing eight kills, seven digs, three blocks and two aces, and Cravioto-Ross recording five kills, four blocks and two aces while hitting .833. In all, 14 different T-Birds touched the court, showcasing the depth in the program.
"We're only where we're at in the season because of the quality we have in the gym, and not just in the starting lineup," remarked Hawkins. "Danny and Alex are two guys that have every right to be on the floor with the way they've played. Even if they're young and don't have as much experience, they bring so much quality…I just think everyone else is getting to see what we see every day."
The Griffins held the lead midway through the first set at 15-12, capitalizing off some UBC errors and playing some clean volleyball. But the Thunderbirds turned it on in the back half of the frame, closing things out on an extended 13-4 run that featured some strong kills and blocks.
The second set followed a somewhat similar pattern, with the two teams going back-and-forth early before the 'Birds were able to pull away as the set wore on. Pratt dealt major damage as the set wore on with five kills, including both of the final two points to end it at 25-15.
Despite a 5-0 MacEwan burst that put them up by two in the early stages of the third, the Thunderbirds were able to punch back with an 8-3 run of their own to take control and see things out from there. First-year setter Daniel Lewis was given the reins in the final set, reaching 10 assists for the first time in his young career.
The two teams will do battle once again on Saturday night, as the Thunderbirds aim to keep their winning ways going.
"We saw tonight – this isn't a pushover team by any means," added Hawkins. "MacEwan are well-coached, Brad [Poplawski] does a good job with his group. We know they're beat up right now, but we need to expect that they're going to perform just as well if not better, because they showed a lot of quality tonight."
The rematch begins at 6:00 p.m. (PT) inside War Memorial Gym.
