EDMONTON – The UBC Thunderbirds will be heading to the U SPORTS national championship tournament on a winning note, as they defeated the Thompson Rivers WolfPack 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20) to capture the Canada West bronze medal.
In what was a tight contest between the provincial rivals, UBC was boosted by 14 more kills, nine more aces, and 13 more digs than their counterparts.
Issy Robertshaw was named the Player of the Match for UBC after tallying 34 assists, three aces, and seven digs.
Kylee Glanville led UBC with 13 kills, to go along with 12 from
Aimee Skinner and 10 from
Lucy Borowski.
"Obviously a disappointing loss yesterday, a really close game. We were able to come together, we were talking about playing to win today. It's nice to come away with some hardware," said Robertshaw after the match. "We were prepared for a well-balanced attack from the WolfPack. We saw some different players from them today so we had to adjust to that, we had to focus on our strategy and what we brought to the game."
Maria Dancheva led Thompson Rivers with 12 kills, to go along with 11 from Myah Cressy. Libby Meldrum had a match-high 38 assists for the WolfPack, who will now set their sights on the national championship tournament next week.
UBC showcased their depth in the opening set, with six different attackers combining for a total of 13 kills as a team. After the T-Birds trailed 9-4 early in the frame, their offence found a rhythm en route to a 25-17 win. Lee and Borowski had three kills each, with five aces and two blocks making up for eight attack errors.
The WolfPack were led by three kills from Gent, and two each from Dancheva and Cressy.
TRU responded with a stellar 25-22 second set win. Tied at 19-19, TRU won six of the next nine points to take the victory. Dancheva and Cressy combined for nine kills in the second set alone, as the WolfPack scored 13 as a team on 30 attempts. UBC struggled from the line, committing seven service errors in the set after only one in the first.
The third set was the best of the match to that point, and ended with UBC scoring four straight points after a 21-21 tie to earn the win. Two aces from Robertshaw to go along with a kill from Glanville was the final momentum push needed for the T-Birds after 11 ties and four lead changes in the frame.
After a tight opening to the fourth, which saw the teams tied at 12 points apiece, UBC started to pull ahead. They took a 16-12 lead and never relinquished the lead from there, with Skinner ending the match with a kill in her biggest performance since her return from injury.
Next stop for the Thunderbirds is the Langley Events Centre, the site of the 2026 U SPORTS Women's Volleyball Championship. There they'll do battle with some of the best teams the country has to offer from March 13 to 15.
