VANCOUVER – On a night when two of the top-four ranked teams in the country went head-to-head, it was the Thunderbirds (18-1) who prevailed over the Heat (15-4) in straight sets (25-15, 25-20, 25-15).
 
For the Heat, it was a frustrating affair as they had star setter and middle blocker duo Zach van Geel and Thys Weststrate, as well as backup middle blocker Stephen Searcy, all depart the match at different points due to injury.
 
For the Thunderbirds, they enjoyed their Legacy Night – honouring the 50th anniversary of the 1975-76 national championship-winning UBC squad and playing the match in front of over a dozen members of that team along with other alumni and supporters.
 
"The guys have just been about their business every day in training," said T-Birds head coach Mike Hawkins on his team's mindset. "And with tonight being Legacy Night, to be able to honour that 1975-76 team is special, but this team is creating their own legacy. Our block defence, our back row defence, our transition into offence have really been our superpowers and I think that showed tonight.
 
"UBCO is a great team, they're really strong offensively and I thought we frustrated some of their guys. It's really unfortunate that a few players went down with injury, and I think that disrupted them as it would anybody. But I think our guys did a good job of just staying the course and playing our volleyball."


 
Reeve Gingera recorded 12 kills, three digs and three aces for the Thunderbirds, while Alex Borowski put up a highly efficient 11 kills, five digs and two aces, hitting .556. Mason Greves dished out 37 assists to go with dix digs and three aces.
 
Xander van Driel tallied seven kills and four digs for the visitors, while Lucas Woelders had five kills and three digs.
 
There were a high number of kills on both sides to start off the match, with both teams trading powerful swings. A pair from van Driel knotted up the score at six points apiece, but the Thunderbirds slowly took over from there.
 
A big reason for that was the service line, as the T-Birds recorded four aces and no service errors in the first, while the Heat had no aces and four errors. That serving disparity helped power a 9-3 run that blew the set open, and the 'Birds cruised to the end of the frame from there.


 
The second followed a similar sort of pattern, as while a big solo block by Woelders followed by one from the duo of van Driel and Ashton South helped keep the Heat close in the early stages, the 'Birds again played from the front for nearly the entire set.
 
The visitors got the deficit down to as little as two points at one stage, but the T-Birds counter-punched when required and the set eventually ended at 25-20 following an unintended kill (the first of his young career) by rookie libero Parker Ocampo.
 
The third and final frame wasn't as close, as the 'Birds rode a 9-2 burst in the middle of the set to take full control and earned their 11th straight sets victory of the season.
 
With just one more regular season match to go, Saturday's clash with the Heat will serve as UBC's Senior Night, beginning at 6:30 p.m. (PT) inside War Memorial Gym.
 
"Finish in style," said Hawkins on what the goal is to close the weekend. "It's a really unique feeling playing on your Senior Night – you've got a whole lot of emotions going on and I think that includes the coaching staff…I'm looking forward to being able to honour them before the game, but as soon as that whistle blows it's all about our business. We'll have some fun afterwards, but I want to make sure we continue performing well."