SASKATOON – It might not have been the cleanest display of volleyball, but the Thunderbirds (3-0) did what they needed to do in order to defeat the Saskatchewan Huskies (2-1) in three sets (25-18, 25-22, 25-19).
The 'Birds recorded just 27 kills on the night, but held up well defensively and took advantage of an error-plagued Huskies side that committed 21 attack errors and 21 service errors. Lucas Musschoot was the lone Saskatchewan player who hit the ball relatively efficiently, tallying nine kills on a .222 hitting percentage to go with two digs and two blocks.
Gavin Moes led UBC in kills with eight and also had a pair of digs. Wil Basilio, Danny Cravioto-Ross and Dawson Pratt each had five kills, with Cravioto-Ross adding three blocks and Pratt recording five digs and two aces.
The opening set had the most lopsided final score of the three, with the T-Birds jumping out in front early and not looking back. A Pratt ace and Moes kill made it 10-5 for the visitors, and after a brief pushback by the Huskies, the 'Birds reeled off another four unanswered capped by a block from Moes and Alex Emery to extend the lead to seven.
The blue and gold were able to close things out from there, with all of their final five points in the frame coming from Saskatchewan errors.
The Huskies' offensive struggles continued in the second, as the T-Birds held them to a negative hitting percentage for the set. Despite that, the Thunderbirds found themselves trailing for much of the period, going down by as many as seven points following a Musschoot kill that made it 16-9 Huskies.
The T-Birds didn't panic, however, and a Basilio kill followed by a block by him and Cravioto-Ross kickstarted what became a massive 13-4 run to close the set with a 25-22 win. Moes earned a series of clutch kills as part of the rally, with the 'Birds scoring seven of the final eight points of the set.
Not wanting to find themselves in a similar hole again, the Thunderbirds rushed out to a 5-1 advantage to begin the third. By the time Cravioto-Ross and Daniel Lewis teamed up on a block to make it 16-8 the T-Birds were in full control, and they never let the Huskies get close from there. Cravioto-Ross punctuated the performance with a kill that made it 25-19.
Having won nine of their 10 sets played so far in this young season, the 'Birds will aim to keep that positive momentum going tomorrow in their rematch against the Huskies.
