BRANDON, Man. – For the second match in a row, the Thunderbirds (6-1) found themselves playing a full five sets. This time, however, they got the win, taking down the Brandon Bobcats (3-2) on the road (25-22, 24-26, 25-19, 21-25, 15-11).
Dawson Pratt (17 kills, nine digs) and Wil Basilio (15 kills, eight digs) dealt plenty of damage on the outside, while Parker Ocampo tied his career-high with 14 digs. Needing a spark off the bench, the 'Birds found a perhaps unexpected one in Nik Reimer, who in just his second appearance of the season recorded new career-highs in both kills (eight) and digs (five).
The milestones also included setter Daniel Lewis, whose 57 assists shattered his previous career-best of 37, a mark that had stood for all of six days.
An Alex Emery ace capped a run of four straight points that made it 10-6 UBC in the first, and they maintained that lead throughout the rest of the set, despite a couple of pushes from the Bobcats. That would not be the case in the second, as it was the hosts who put themselves firmly out in front with a 4-0 burst of their own midway through the set.
Down 23-19 late, UBC rallied and tied up the score, and even staved off Brandon's first set point, but an Alfredo Enns ace ended things at 26-24 and tied the set count.
Things looked bleak for the 'Birds early in the third, as they found themselves in an 11-4 hole. But they showed their enormous offensive potential by embarking on an extended 20-6 run to completely flip the script. That included three straight kills from Reimer to tie the score at 14-14, before Emery landed one of his own to give UBC a lead they wouldn't relinquish.
The hosts wouldn't go away quietly though, taking another big lead early in the fourth and not giving it up to force a fifth and final frame.
This time, the T-Birds started out stronger, and came up with the clutch run they needed when Lewis and Danny Cravioto-Ross combined on a block to begin four unanswered points that put them up 11-6. The Bobcats couldn't close the distance from there, and Pratt ended the night with his season-high 17th kill.
After quite the battle, the two teams will be right back at it on Saturday, with first serve scheduled for 4:45 p.m. (PT).
