Undefeated T-Birds set to face Bisons in high-level battle

It’s been a great campaign to this point for the UBC Thunderbirds, who are ranked No. 1 in U SPORTS with a 12-0 record. The rest of the regular season, however, is a gauntlet, as their opponents for the next four weeks consist of the teams currently ranked No. 2, No. 4, No. 5 and No. 6 in the nation.

The good news for the T-Birds is that three of those four series will take place at home, including this week. It’s a nice boost for a UBC team that’s only played twice at home in the last 10 weeks.

“It’s exciting to get this chance to be back,” said Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer. “For volleyball fans it’s a great time to help us warm up War Memorial Gym. It’s going to hopefully be some great volleyball.”

First up are the No. 6 Manitoba Bisons, who sport a 10-4 record and have won eight matches in a row after a slow start. The T-Birds and Bisons have faced off in a number of massive clashes over the last couple years, with Manitoba defeating UBC in the last two Canada West playoffs and the T-Birds coming out on top at the 2023 U SPORTS National Championships.

The Bisons are led by reigning U SPORTS Player of the Year Raya Surinx who leads Canada West in kills. The Winnipeg-based outfit have the advantage of familiarity – all seven starters who played against the T-Birds in the 2023 postseason are still on the team and starting two years later.

“For our fans that have watched us play them the last couple years, they will recognize their entire lineup,” said Reimer. “They’re a very experienced squad, and they bring all-around really good play…knowing the team and being able to stop the team, that’s two different challenges.”

UBC, meanwhile, have a mix of battle-tested vets and younger players stepping up into new, key roles. The Thunderbirds have hit efficiently from open play – their .255 hitting percentage ranks third in the conference – but their biggest strength has been their service game. The T-Birds average 3.73 aces per set, with the gap between first and second in that category larger than the one between second and last.

Akash Grewal leads Canada West in aces per set (1.02) for the second straight season, while Issy Robertshaw (0.59) and Trinity Solecki (0.51) are also both in the top five. Those rankings don’t even include Lucy Borowski (0.68) who missed five
matches in the first term and so hasn’t played enough sets at this point to qualify for the individual leaderboard.

Borowski made her return to the lineup two weekends ago, a massive boost for a T-Birds team that has had to weather plenty of injuries and absences over the course of the season so far. Grewal and Solecki are the only players who have started every match, and everyone on the roster who has been able to play has gotten in at various points.

“I give our team a lot of credit for our adaptability and our persistence through the first half of the year,” added Reimer. “Now we need everyone playing at a high level against the teams we face coming up.”

Friday’s heavyweight bout between the ‘Birds and Bisons begins at 5:30 p.m. (PT) at War Memorial Gym. The rematch gets underway at 4:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday.