VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (11-3) took down the MacEwan Griffins (5-9) for a second consecutive day, winning a far more even rematch by a score of 3-1 (25-20, 25-15, 21-25, 25-15) at War Memorial Gym on Saturday afternoon.

The T-Birds had the edge in all major stats, most notably in winning points from the service line, as they out-aced the Griffins 12-4. The 'Birds were led by the four aces of Jocelyn Lenarcic, while Lucy Borowski added three aces of her own, along with 15 kills. Reigning Canada West Player of the Week Kylee Glanville paced the team with 16 kills and nine digs.

For MacEwan, Kara Firth led the way with 13 kills, adding a pair of digs. Setter Payton Shimoda racked up 28 assists and a team-high seven digs. Alana Murr had a strong all-around game, leading the Griffins  in hitting percentage, blocks, and aces, at .400, two, and two, respectively.

"I think it was good for us to get pushed like that, which I only say now that it's over," laughed UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "We faced a real challenge today, and there were lots of ups and downs, but learning from a match like this is part of a team's growth over the season and will help prepare us for more big challenges down the stretch and in the post-season."



Both teams' offences were red hot in the first set. Two early kills by Alyshia Byrks helped the Griffins to an early 4-2 lead. The two sides exchanged kill after kill from there in an attacking clinic, with MacEwan maintaining its two-point edge until the score reached 18-16. That's when UBC finally turned the tables and took its first lead, ripping off a four-point run behind back-to-back aces from Lucy Borowski to draw a timeout from the visitors.

MacEwan head coach Chris Wandler's tactic immediately paid off, as the Griffins quickly earned two straight points to tie the set at 20. Despite having a timeout in his pocket, Coach Reimer elected to let the set play out, and his faith in his team's resilience paid off. The T-Birds took the next five points to win the set, with Elizabeth Lee adding two kills in that final stretch. Both teams had incredible attacking numbers in the frame, with the Griffins posting a blistering .478 attack percentage and the blue and gold nearly matching it at .458.



The second set was far less dramatic. The 'Birds jumped out to an 11-4 lead and never looked back. UBC out-hit MacEwan by .300 in the set, cruising to a 25-15 win, with the bench getting a significant run in the latter half of the frame.

Despite losing the first five sets of the weekend, the Griffins proved their own resilience by roaring back in the third. They led nearly from start to finish, though always with the 'Birds breathing down their necks. MacEwan was relentless, piling up 36 attacks in the frame to offset several spectacular kills by Borowski, ultimately withstanding a late UBC rally to win 25-21.

Tensions were high in the fourth set, with the lead going back and forth until the T-Birds put together a seven-point run to pull ahead 15-10. The Griffins quickly responded with a three-point run to reel the blue and gold back in, but they could never quite catch up. Leonora Barbulovich-Nad had two kills and an ace down the stretch to seal the win.



"I thought Lucy (Borowski) was outstanding through the entire match today," praised Reimer.

"Jocelyn Lenarcic and Leonora Barbulovich-Nad have both improved their serving significantly, and that had a big impact on the match. In the first term there were times that our serving from the middle really hurt us, we challenged them to improve over the break, they did, and that might have made the difference in a tight final set."

Next up for the Thunderbirds is their final road trip of the regular season. UBC won't be back at War Gym for nearly a month, as they head to Calgary, then the University of the Fraser Valley, over the next three weekends, sandwiched by a bye. The first game of the trip is next Friday, February 23^rd at the Calgary Dinos, with the match set to start at 6:45 p.m. (PT).

MacEwan returns to the friendly confines of David Atkinson Gym for a four-game homestand, starting with a matchup against the Manitoba Bisons at 5:00 p.m. (MT) next Friday.