ABBOTSFORD – For the fourth consecutive season, the U SPORTS No.2-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (15-3) will be playing playoff volleyball at War Memorial Gym. The T-Birds took down the UFV Cascades (9-9) in straight sets on Saturday (25-19, 25-17, 26-24) at the UFV Athletic Centre to clinch a top-four seed in Canada West and the right to host a best-of-three quarter-final series in three weekends' time.

The second place T-Birds can finish no lower than third in the conference with one weekend remaining in the regular season, but appear overwhelmingly likely to remain in second place, behind U SPORTS No.1-ranked Alberta and ahead of defending national champion Manitoba.

UBC shored up its position thanks to a steady, balanced win over UFV on Saturday, out-hitting the Cascades in every set. The 'Birds led all major statistical categories save aces, where they trailed by one, most notably finishing with a .268 attack percentage while holding the hosts to just .093 on the night.

Lucy Borowski was the clear focal point of the Cascades' defence, yet she still managed to lead all hitters with 14 kills. Kylee Glanville chipped in 10 kills, two aces and three blocks. Leonora Barbulovich-Nad continued her second half surge, posting a match-high six blocks, while adding a pair of aces.



The first set was tilted toward the T-Birds from start to finish. UFV nearly erased an early deficit by cutting the UBC lead to 11-10, before consecutive kills from Borowski sparked a four-point run. The 'Birds never led by less than four for the rest of the frame, with Barbulovich-Nad posting back-to-back blocks to finish off a 25-19 win.

The Cascades bounced back to start the second, leaping out to a 6-4 lead. That's when the blue and gold took control, going on a 10-2 run, featuring an astounding five straight points on kills by Borowski. Once the Cascades finally broke the run at 16-9, Borowski came right back with two more kills in a row to put the set out of reach. After the 'Birds gave their backups some court time, the second set ended 25-17.

There was little rhythm to the third set, with the two sides trading points up to 8-8. UBC gradually built a small lead, but a UFV run saw the two teams tied back up at 17 all. Up 21-20, Borowski showed incredible touch on a kill with such significant top spin, it seemed to nosedive between the two rows of Cascade defenders.

Yet, the Cascades would not fall.

They tied the set up at 24-24, forcing extra points. Only the minimum was required however, thanks to the work of Kylee Glanville. She slammed home a kill to put the T-Birds up 25-24 before following up with an ace to seal the match.



UBC now returns home for their final series of the regular season, back-to-back matches against sister school UBCO (5-13) on Friday and Saturday at War Memorial Gym. The team's graduating seniors will be honoured at the conclusion of Saturday's match.

The Thunderbirds only need to win one of those games in order to guarantee that they finish ahead of third-place Manitoba in the regular season standings. In order to have a chance to finish first, the T-Birds would need to sweep the Heat and have the Alberta Pandas get swept by a 7-11 MacEwan team, meaning UBC seems all but certainly destined to remain in second place.