VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (6-4) will embark on a road trip for the first time this month as they head to Alberta to face the Pandas (5-5) in their final two matches of the calendar year. Game one goes Friday, November 29, at 6:30 p.m. PT with game two on Saturday, November 30, at 5:00 p.m. PT – both at the Saville Community Sports Centre in Edmonton.

The T-Birds are coming off a tough series split on home court and will be looking to head into the winter break on a high note. Alberta had a brief four-game win streak snapped in their last outing, but outside hitter Kory White is leading the Canada West with an average 5.03 kills per set and 5.5 points per set. White has also collected the most total attacks with 515 to date.

Last Action

UBC started off last weekend with a high-energy, 3-1, win over the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack (8-2) during the annual Thunderstruck festival at War Memorial Gym. Captain Anna Price put up a season-high 13 kills and added two service aces, while Jayde Robertsen had eight kills and five blocks in the victory. However, the ‘Birds fell 3-1 the next night to a re-energized WolfPack side despite a strong 14-kill performance from Gabrielle Attieh and 32 assists from Kayla Oxland.

The Pandas split their series with Mount Royal (11-1) last weekend, handing the Cougars their first loss of the season in five sets on night one, before falling 3-0 the following evening to the Canada West’s top team.

Coach’s Take

“We’re hoping to wrap up the first term with a strong weekend of play against a team that we have had great battles with for many years,” said UBC Head Coach Doug Reimer. “Alberta has some great talent and experience and it will be a good test for our team.”

With a few injuries and obstacles to start the season, Reimer knows his team is still continuing to improve from week to week.

“I believe we’ve made progress in the last few weeks and hopefully we can show that this weekend. Hopefully we can play well in back to back matches.”

[SOURCE: UBC]