BRANDON – The UBC Thunderbirds exacted a measure of revenge Saturday night with a straight sets win 3-0 (25-13, 25-19, 25-17) over the host Bobcats. The two teams played a marathon five-set match Friday, but Saturday was a much different story as the match was just over an hour long, and UBC was in control of the entire match.
UBC game out guns blazin' early, jumping to a 16-8 first set lead before capturing the first set 25-13. Brandon was able to keep pace with the T-Birds early in the second, but UBC proved to be in control by taking the frame on a Lisa Barclay kill. The third was much the same as UBC jumped to an early lead, and despite Brandon's best effort it just wasn't enough as the T-Birds wrapped up the set on a BU attack error.
The attack efficiency was clearly the difference as the Thunderbirds hit .365 on the match (highlighted by an impressive .500 in the second set) to Brandon's .113 mark as a team. The Bobcats hit at a zero percent attack efficiency in the first and third sets.
"They played better. It's that simple. They executed and performed while we were chasing," says Bobcats head coach
Lee Carter. "It just goes to show that we have more work to do. We aren't up there with the best teams in our conference right now but we hope we can peak as the season moves on."
Rosie Schlagintweit had an impressive performance for the victors, notching 15 kills on 28 swings (good for a .429 hitting percentage) and five digs. Danielle Brisebois had 12 kills on 24 swings with five total blocks, while Lisa Barclay had 10 kills and eight digs playing in what will be her final conference match as a T-Bird in her hometown of Brandon.
The Bobcats were paced by
Vaovai Aiono's team-high eight kills.
Donata Huebert had eight digs and Aiono added six.
The win improves UBC's record to 10-8 while Brandon sits one game ahead in the Canada West conference standings at 11-7.
Up next for Brandon is a quick turn-around as the Bobcats play a rare home-and-home with the Winnipeg Wesmen starting Wednesday at the University of Winnipeg. The Thunderbirds will welcome the Trinity Western Spartans next weekend.
