All six UBC Thunderbirds men's volleyball player on the court come together, grinning, to celebrate a point
Jordie Arthur / UFV Cascades
3
Winner UBC UBC 17-1, 17-1
0
UFV UFV 0-18, 0-18
Winner
UBC UBC
17-1, 17-1
3
Final
0
UFV UFV
0-18, 0-18
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
UBC UBC 25 25 25 (3)
UFV UFV 17 15 20 (0)

Game Recap: Men's Volleyball | | Toby Kerr (UBC Communications)

T-Birds lock up first place in Canada West

ABBOTSFORD – The Canada West Championship seems destined to be decided at War Memorial Gym.

The U SPORTS No.1-ranked Thunderbirds (17-1) took care of a winless UFV Cascades (0-18) team in straight sets on Saturday (25-17, 25-15, 25-20) to secure first place in the conference, with a week remaining in the regular season.

The T-Birds had already clinched home court advantage in the quarter-finals, but now, so long as they win that #1 vs #8 series, they are guaranteed to host the Canada West Final Four, with three of those four teams set to earn berths at the U SPORTS Championship in Windsor.

UBC handled a rebuilding UFV program with ease at the UFV Athletic Centre, holding the hosts to a negative attack percentage while hitting a crisp .391 in the win. The 'Birds dominated all statistical categories, while giving the bench significant run for the second consecutive night.

Mason Greves setting Kieran Robinson-Dunning, both high in the air, Greves holding his hands above his head just after releasing the set, Robinson-Dunning with his arm cocked back about to swing, both looking up at the ball which is just above the frame

Saturday's first set saw the 'Birds fly out to a 6-2 lead behind the first ace of the match from captain Kieran Robinson-Dunning. Their next ace came from Alex Borowksi to stretch the advantage to 14-7, before Reeve Gingera notched consecutive aces to push the lead to 22-11. UBC would walk away with a comfortable 25-17 win in the opening frame.

The second set followed a similar script, with the blue and gold jumping out to a 6-3 lead behind consecutive blocks from the tandem of Emery and Dawson Pratt. Three straight UFV attack errors put UBC up 12-5, and they didn't have to do much else from there, as the Cascades hit a troubling -.080 in the set to serve up an easy 25-15 victory for the visitors.

With most UBC starters cheering on their teammates from the sideline, the T-Birds still had little trouble in the third set. Daniel Lewis looked promising filling in at setter, piling up 11 assists, and one beautiful and highly unexpected kill that was so nice it drew appreciative applause from the UFV crowd. He often fed Marcus Morgan, who posted a tidy four kills on eight attacks, along with an ace. Danny Cravioto-Ross had a perfect two kills on two attacks, with the backup 'Birds proving more than capable of closing out a 25-20 win to finish the match.

UBC Thunderbirds men's volleyball outside hitter Marcus Morgan hanging in the arm, his arm coming down across his body, which is bent forward in a follow through of a powerful attack against the UFV Cascades

The regular season ends back home at War Memorial Gym next weekend, when UBC hosts sister school UBCO for back-to-back games. The team will recognize its graduating seniors at the end of Saturday's match.
 
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