CALGARY –
Leonora Barbulovich-Nad had a career-high seven aces, as the UBC Thunderbirds (12-3) swept the Calgary Dinos (6-9) 3-0 (25-16, 25-18, 25-14) at Jack Simpson Gym on Friday night.
Barbulovich-Nad added four blocks and four kills to help her team take the decisive win in the first half of the back-to-back series. The second-year's ace total on the night matched her output over the entirety of her 18-game rookie season.
"I was very connected with myself, and connected with the feel of the ball," she told Canada West TV, after being named Player of the Game.
"We've been working a lot, especially in the middle position, on serving better. More velocity, more flatness, more flow. Mixing up location has also been a focus. It all came together tonight."
Lucy Borowski was her stellar self on the attack for the T-Birds, easily leading all hitters with 12 kills on the evening.
Jocelyn Lenarcic was the life of the 'Birds' block party, bringing a five-pack of rejections.
Bronwyn Ettinger had a match-high 10 digs and
Issy Robertshaw racked up 26 assists, despite being rested in the later stages of one-sided sets.
The blue and gold had their hands full with the Dinos in the first half of the opening set. Trailing 13-12, UBC suddenly found its footing and unleashed a flurry of kills and aces as Calgary faltered. All five non-setters on the floor won points in a 13-4 run that saw the balanced 'Birds pull away to a 25-16 win.
The T-Birds kept pouring it on in the second set, jumping out to a 10-3 lead behind aces from
Kylee Glanville and Robertshaw. The Dinos then found their form and battled back to cut the lead to 13-11, drawing UBC's first timeout. That's when Barbulovich-Nad, who head coach
Doug Reimer had challenged over the winter break to improve from the service line, proved that she had been putting in the work. The Toronto-native smacked three straight aces to power a 5-0 run, from which Calgary could not recover. Despite a late Dinos rally after both teams brought in their benches, the blue and gold walked away with a 25-18 win.
UBC's outside hitters were the story of the third set. Borowski and Glanville traded kills for the 'Birds' first five points of the set, before a Borowski ace gave UBC a 6-2 lead.
Elizabeth Lee got in on the action with multiple kills in the set as well, as the T-Birds never appeared in danger of relinquishing their early advantage. The cherry on top of Barbulovich-Nad's career night came in her final turn at the service line, as she added two more aces as part of a four-point run. The third set finished 25-14.
The T-Birds will try to build on their three-game winning streak in Saturday's rematch, with the two teams meeting again at 3:00 p.m. (PT) back at Jack Simpson Gym. Catch the match, live or on demand, on
Canada West TV.
