VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds fell 3-0 (16-25, 17-25, 15-25) to the Mount Royal Cougars for their second straight loss at War Memorial Gym. The ‘Birds drop to 3-3 on the season, while the Cougars remain undefeated atop the Canada West with their sixth consecutive win.

“We were good following our game plan,” said Cougars head coach Sandra Lamb following the road sweep. “When their big hitters were swinging, we made sure to get four hands on them and tried to make their job difficult.”

The opening set was a back and forth affair early on as the teams exchanged aces, paired with some strong offensive play. The Cougars were able to capitalize on some ‘Birds miscues taking a 16-10 lead into the technical timeout.

Mount Royal was led offensively by Chantal Park who had three kills to go along with three aces, while Nyadholi Thokbuom had two kills of her own to pace the visiting Cougars to an opening set victory.

The second set was much of the same story. The ‘Birds were able to keep it close at the start, but a mid-set run by Cougars on the heels of some strong play by the front line propelled the visitors to a 16-10 lead once again. UBC was able to get on a little run of their own, but were unable to sustain the momentum as the Cougars took the second set 25-17.

The Cougars continued their dominating play into the third set, when they jumped out to an early and cruised to a dominant third set victory.

Madison Marshall led Mount Royal with 11 kills while Park finished with seven in the win. Gabrielle Attieh and Cara Kovacs led the T-Birds with six kills each, while Kovacs added three blocks for the ‘Birds.

Prior to the third set, “Man in Motion” Rick Hansen took to the court to present fifth-year outside hitter, and T-Bird captain, Anna Price with the Rick Hansen Difference Maker Award in Women’s Volleyball. The award recognizes individuals as leaders within the women’s volleyball team and as contributing members of the UBC community.

Following the conclusion of the match, UBC recognized their 2019 U SPORTS national championship winning team with a banner raising ceremony in celebration of the program’s twelfth national title a season ago.

The ‘Birds will be on a bye next week, while the Cougars head to the interior to face the UBC Okanagan Heat.

[SOURCE: UBC]