VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (1-1) hit the road in week two of Canada West action for a series with the Saskatchewan Huskies (1-1) on Friday, October 25, at 7:00 p.m. PT and Saturday, October 26, at 4:00 p.m. PT. After a comprehensive preseason, second-year head coach Mike Hawkins and his T-Bird team are striving to make noise in a competitive Canada West conference.
In 2018, the youthful ‘Birds split their series with the Huskies inside War Memorial Gym, winning 3-1 thanks to big performances by Coltyn Liu and Nick Mickleberry, before falling in four sets the following evening. Ben Hooker and Gerard Murray each had 6 blocks on the weekend while Murray tallied three service aces.
Last Action
UBC kicked off their 2019-2020 campaign last weekend with a split in Winnipeg against the Wesmen to join seven other Canada West squads at 1-1 after week one. The T-Birds dropped their season opener 3-1, despite hitting at a .398 clip, due in large part to 30 serving errors and just two aces. Despite their slow start, the T-Birds bounced right back on Sunday afternoon and rallied to a 3-1 victory after losing the first set 25-15. Liu racked up six aces and 17 kills in the ‘Birds’ first win of the season, while second-year outside hitter Matt Neaves contributed 14 kills and two blocks
Saskatchewan lost on the road in five tough sets to the Calgary Dinos (1-1) in their first conference action, but also rallied in game two to take a 3-1 win back home to the Prairies. Standout third-year hitter Dylan Mortenson put up 41 kills with five blocks and two aces over the weekend for the Huskies.
Coach’s Take
Hawkins was happy with his team’s offensive output in their first two matches of the season, but recognized room for improvement.
“Throughout both matches against Winnipeg, I thought our offence was very balanced and a lot to handle for the Wesmen,” said Hawkins. “The fact of the matter is that we were let down by our poor play from the service line on Friday and didn’t play well enough as a cohesive team to get the victory. Once we cleaned things up in respect to those two major deficiencies, I thought we earned the victory on Saturday in a complete-team win.”
Hawkins is preparing to face an experienced Saskatchewan squad on the road and hopes his team continues to grow as the season progresses.
“The Huskies are a strong team led by CJ Gavlas and Mortensen – two guys with National team experience and who will be key performers for them all season. They run a dynamic offence, but if we can put pressure on them with our aggressive serving and tough block defence, I expect a great battle throughout both matches. It will be a big test for us to prove that we can grow from our mistakes versus Winnipeg and apply those lessons-learned to the Huskies.”
[SOURCE: UBC]