VANCOUVER - The UBC Thunderbirds (16-5) will finish third in the Canada West standings after a 3-1 (25-21, 26-28, 26-24, 25-23) win over the fourth-place Brandon Bobcats (13-8) at War Memorial Gym.
UBC had three hitters in double-digits for kills - Coltyn Liu had 15 kills with a team-high nine digs, Matt Neaves tallied a match-high 17 kills, and Michael Dowhaniuk posted 14 kills with four blocks in the victory.
Robin Baghdady and
Elliott Viles both had 15 kills to lead the Bobcats, while Baghdady added five service aces and Viles contributed six digs in the loss.
A strong serving run from Liu lifted the 'Birds to an 8-5 lead in the first set before Neaves teed off from the back row for an 11-5 lead to force a Brandon timeout. The Bobcats stormed out of the timeout with a 4-0 run on a string of big serves from Baghdady, but Dowhaniuk came up with two huge kills and restored UBC's cushion at 14-10. Liu flew in from the back row for a thunderous kill at 18-16 'Birds, and lifted UBC to a set point that the T-Birds converted on a Bobcat service error at 25-21.
The two teams traded blows in a tight second set as Gerard Murray tied it up at 13-13 with an ace - but Baghdady smacked a monster kill to retake the lead at 14-13. Neaves knotted it back up at 18-18 with a cross court kill before putting the 'Birds up 20-19. A Bobcat error gave UBC a set point at 24-23, but Viles kept the visitors alive with a kill before earning Brandon a set point of their own at 25-24. The back-and-forth battle continued at 26-26 before Baghdady put Brandon ahead 27-26 and visitors closed it out on a T-Bird error.
Dowhaniuk scored four straight points for UBC in the third set - ripping a kill at 13-12 Bobcats, sneaking a tip through the block to tie it at 14-14 and to take the lead at 15-14. Murray and Dowhaniuk teamed up for a big block at 20-18 T-Birds, but Brandon tied it up at 22-22 and took the lead on a UBC error. Jordan Deshane turned the Bobcat attack aside with a solo block and earned the 'Birds their second set point at 25-24. Murray punctuated the third set one of his seven kills of the match to win it, 26-24.
Deshane and Dowhaniuk combined for a block to go up 11-5 in the fourth and Liu unloaded on back-to-back kills for a 14-7 advantage. Viles cut the deficit to four with a back row kill at 18-14 before making it a three-point set at 20-17 'Birds. Murray maintained the three-point T-Bird edge with a kill at 23-20 before Dowhaniuk gave UBC a match point at 24-21 and the home team took the victory on a Brandon service error.
Next up for the 'Birds and Bobcats is a rematch on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. PT in the Canada West regular season finale on senior night at War Memorial Gym.
"I'm excited for [Deshane]," said Hawkins, ahead of the fifth-year graduating senior's final home game of the regular season. "I told him this week to really enjoy and savour every moment. Senior's night is special...it's something he's going to remember so I'm hoping everyone plays for him and makes sure he goes out on top."
