VANCOUVER – The defending U SPORTS champion UBC Thunderbirds (3-1) are back inside War Memorial Gym this weekend to raise their championship banner during their home opening series against the Mt. Royal Cougars (4-0). Game one goes Friday, November 1, at 6:00 p.m. PT, while Saturday, November 2, at 5:00 p.m. is a special alumni game with the banner raising ceremony to follow.
The ‘Birds will be in for a battle on home court, as Mt. Royal leads the Canada West in kills (213), hitting percentage (.249) and total attacks (559), while also recording the second most service aces (42) in the conference. Last season saw UBC split their series with the Cougars in Calgary – falling in straight sets before rallying to a 3-1 victory in game two.
Last Action
UBC is coming off a split with the Saskatchewan Huskies (3-1) in their second straight road trip to start the regular season. The T-Birds dropped the opening set 17-25 on night one, but won the next three straight sets for decisive four-set victory. Saskatchewan bounced back on night two to defeat the ‘Birds in four sets – handing UBC their first loss of the season. Third-year middle Gabrielle Attieh collected 29 kills and nine blocks over eight sets, while Courtney Hillier maintained her spot atop the Canada West service aces per set with five aces on the weekend.
The Cougars beat the Manitoba Bisons 3-2 and 3-1 to extend their winning streak to four and remain undefeated through two weeks of conference play.
Coach’s Take
“We are excited to be at home for a number of reasons,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. “First of all after back-to-back Prairie road trips it’ll be great to be at home in front of our fans. It will be great to raise our U SPORTS championship banner on Saturday night as part of our Alumni match.”
Reimer is preparing for a battle against the undefeated Cougars who’s offence is among the best in the conference so far this season.
“In terms of play, we will have to bring our ‘A’ game versus Mt. Royal as they bring a lot of dynamic offence. They are skilled and defend well, so we’ll have to fight for our points and play consistently in all areas.”
[SOURCE: UBC]