ABBOTSFORD – The UBC Thunderbirds (16-1) remained perfect in the new year, taking down the UFV Cascades (0-17) to earn their ninth straight sets victory of the season (25-20, 25-21, 25-16), and fifth in their last six matches.
 
Reeve Gingera led the way offensively with 15 kills and seven digs on a .407 hitting percentage. Dawson Pratt and Alex Emery combined for 13 kills, eight blocks and just a single attack error, as the T-Birds as a team hit a robust .493 with 45 kills in the three sets.

It wasn't all smooth sailing, however. The Thunderbirds were hampered by eight service errors in the opening set, a key reason as to why the final set score was close despite the 'Birds racking up 16 kills on a .424 hitting percentage when they did get the chance to attack.
 

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Finding themselves down by one a little over halfway through the first, the T-Birds got themselves going with five straight points to earn a little bit of breathing room. A series of kills from the trio of Alex Borowski, Pratt and Gingera eventually finished out the set at 25-20.
 
The second provided a similar sort of narrative, with early UBC errors giving the Cascades the ammunition to keep things tight, before the T-Birds eventually managed to pull away.
 
The visitors continued to attack with relentless power, with Mason Greves dishing the ball every which way to the tune of another 15 kills in the set, on an even greater .650 hitting percentage. Greves tallied 37 assists on the night overall, along with five digs and three blocks.


 
The third had the biggest gap in the end, despite the 'Birds ironically recording their lowest kills output in the final frame. After the score was tied up at 7-7 early, the Thunderbirds were able to take the lead with a Borowski kill and didn't look back the rest of the way.
 
Despite a push from the home team that cut the UBC lead to just two points at 17-15, the T-Birds proceeded to rip off an 8-1 run – including five straight to end the match – to earn their 10th consecutive win.
 
The Thunderbirds need just one more victory to clinch the top seed in the Canada West regular season, which would allow them – should they make it through the first round of the playoffs – to host the Final Four inside War Memorial Gym.
 
They'll have a chance to get that win tomorrow night, when they face off against the Cascades once again at 5:45 p.m. (PT).