UBC – ‘Birds Prepare to Battle Wolfpack on Home Court

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (5-3) are getting set to host the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack (7-1) for a special Thunderstruck volleyball festival on Friday, November 22, at 7:00 p.m. PT at War Memorial Gym. Game two of the Canada West series is slated for Saturday, November 23, at 5:00 p.m. PT. as the No. 8-ranked ‘Birds play their final home matches of the calendar year.

UBC bounced back with authority on home court last weekend against the Calgary Dinos (0-8) to return above .500 as their winter break approaches. The WolfPack have won three straight and have lost just one match this season as they sit in third in the Canada West standings.

TRU’s Kseniya Kocyigit second in the conference with a .333 hitting percentage, while second-year T-Bird setter Kayla Oxland is third with an average 9.63 assists per set.

Last Action

After a tough tilt with the undefeated Mount Royal Cougars, the Thunderbirds responded with back-to-back 3-0 victories over the Dinos at War Memorial Gym last weekend. As a team, the ‘Birds dominated the service line and hit 22 total service aces. Kacey Jost lead the way with five aces, Gabrielle Attieh racked up a series-high 36 kills through six sets with five blocks, and Oxland totalled 76 assists.

TRU hosted the Regina Cougars (1-7) in their last outing, sweeping the Cougars 3-0 and 3-0 and earned their first ever spot in the U SPORTS top-ten rankings at No. 10 with Canada West second star of the week Kendra Finch.

Coach’s Take

UBC head coach Doug Reimer is looking forward to kicking off the weekend with the Thunderstruck festival Friday evening.

“We hope that the energy from Thunderstruck fans will be a motivating environment to play in,” said Reimer. “Athletes love to play in front of engaged fans. Last year was a great atmosphere and we could really use a big crowd to help us battle against a very experienced WolfPack team.”

Reimer will need to look to his defense to neutralize a strong WolfPack side.

“TRU has been playing very well and we will have to bring our ‘A’ game in all aspects of our play. They bring a lot of options so it will be a good test for us defensively.”

[SOURCE: UBC]