VANCOUVER - It took a nail-biting five sets, but the UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball team did enough on Saturday night to top the Brandon Bobcats 3-2 at War Memorial Gym. Coupled with their straight sets win from last night, the T-Birds will now advance to the Canada West Final Four next weekend.
 
The final set scores for Saturday's contest were 25-22, 22-25, 24-26, 25-17, and 15-12.
 
For UBC, Danielle Brisebois had 14 kills, followed by Laura MacTaggart, who notched 11. Setter Alessandra Gentile had 39 assists and 14 digs. Samantha Patko had the most digs for the T-Birds with 19.
 
Shanlee McLennan led Brandon with 13 kills while teammate Gillian Leech had 12. Courtney Roberts and Nikki Majewski had five blocks each. Majewski also led the visiting squad with 34 assists. Donata Huebert recorded 21 digs.
 
Like the match, the final set went down to the wire. With her 'Birds up 14-12 in the final frame, UBC outside hitter MacTaggart went off the block and out for the win, capping a terrific performance from the sophomore that saw her record 11 kills, six digs, and an ace.
 
Late in the first set, it was MacTaggart that gave UBC their first lead of the contest, as her dime of an ace put the 'Birds up 20-19 after Brandon had dictated much of the play in the early going.  A kill by Leech and a UBC attack error had put the Bobcats ahead 18-14. That ace from MacTaggart proved part of an 8-3 run for the 'Birds that ended with them up 24-22. 
 
Brisebois ended the set quickly after that, delivering a bullet kill, one of her game-high 14, to give the Blue and Gold the 25-22 decision.
 
Early in the second frame, two kills apiece from Leech and Breanne Sytnyk helped Brandon climb out to a 13-10 lead.
 
The 'Birds did well to rebound, and four Brandon attacking errors proved huge, as the two sides battled to a 19-19 deadlock.
 
Behind a couple of kills from captain McLennan, Brandon regained control of the match late. With the Bobcats up 24-22, a Brisebois kill just missed the back corner, and Brandon took the second set.
 
With the two teams knotted up at 24-24, the third set came down to service execution. With the 'Birds in possession of the ball, senior Alissa Coulter hit the net on the serve, and then, taking over, Sytnyk stepped up and dropped an ace right into the heart of the 'Birds receive formation, giving Brandon the win.
 
The two sides went back-and-forth in the fourth frame, with the 'Birds sitting on a 12-11 advantage early, and a set of back-to-back Brisebois kills helped the home side take a 16-13 lead into the technical timeout.
 
The 'Birds continued to push in the later stages of the set, and a 9-4 run, a stretch that saw Juliana Kaufmanis put down three kills, gave UBC the 25-17 decision.
 
The 'Birds will now head up to Kelowna next week, as they're set to face the No. 1-ranked UBC Okanagan Heat in the conference semifinals of the Canada West Final Four.
 
The Bobcats won't be in Kelowna, but their season will continue. Brandon can not contend for the league championship but will now re-focus on hosting the CIS National Women's Volleyball Championship. It marks the first time Brandon University has ever hosted a CIS championship before. The Bobcats begin their quest for a national title when they play their quarter-final match at the Healthy Living Centre on March 11. The event concludes on March 13.