Sublime offensive performance lifts T-Birds over Bisons

VANCOUVER – No piece of the hardwood was safe at War Memorial Gym as the UBC Thunderbirds (11-3) racked up 41 kills in a straight sets home victory (25-18, 25-11, 25-14) over the Manitoba Bisons (7-9).

After a very back-and-forth, grind it out type of match the previous night, the T-Birds had a .471 hitting percentage in the rematch, and hit .636 in the first set to set the tone.

“I think we were a lot more comfortable, and then that just allowed us to play free, and you saw the joy these guys were having at the end,” said Thunderbirds acting head coach Jay Tremonti. “When we’re loose, when we’re comfortable, when we’re playing with a lot of joy, it’s fun to be part of.”

Dawson Pratt led the way offensively with 12 kills, six digs and three blocks, with Gavin Moes not too far behind as he put up 11 kills, four digs and two aces.

Tremonti also highlighted the play of UBC’s two middle blockers, Kieran Robinson-Dunning and Jesse Umoren. The pair combined for 11 kills, eight blocks and just a single attack error.

“The middles were hustling all weekend,” added Tremonti. “I want to give shoutouts to both Kieran and Jesse – those guys were hustling in transition, hustling in our offence, and they are the unsung heroes of any good volleyball team.”

Owen Weekes recorded nine kills and five digs for the visitors, leading his team in both categories for the second straight night. Karil Dadash Adeh added four kills, three digs and two blocks.

Owen Lam got the T-Birds’ offence going with back-to-back kills at the beginning of the first set. A powerful ace from Moes pushed the lead out to 9-5, before a series of kills from Pratt forced a Bisons timeout at 12-8.

The Thunderbirds only continued to grow their lead, with a kill from Moes making it 22-14. A few points later Pratt closed it out with his seventh kill of the set to a big cheer from the crowd.

UBC started out strong again in the second, with Umoren notching a kill to make it 6-3 in favour of the home team. They began to turn it up from there, as consecutive blocks from Robinson-Dunning and then Mason Greves was followed by a Umoren ace that put the score at 13-5.
 

The T-Birds cruised from there, closing out the set with a score of 25-11 in their biggest individual set win on the weekend.

Robinson-Dunning got the ‘Birds going with a kill and a block on successive plays to make it 4-1 UBC early in the third. An ace from Greves followed by another block from the duo of Robinson-Dunning and Pratt put the blue and gold in control once again.

Weekes led an attempted comeback for the Bisons, landing six kills in the frame with some impressive attacks. Back-to-back kills from Lam helped quiet down that momentum, however, and the T-Birds pushed the lead out to double digits.

Pratt ended the third set just as he did the first, earning a kill to earn UBC their ninth straight victory.

With just three more weeks to play in the regular season, Tremonti feels there is still room for the team to keep growing as a unit.
 
“We set a goal out at the beginning of the year to get better each week, and I think we’re doing that,” he said. “We’re going to keep leaning on our versatility, we’re going to keep leaning on our trust, and I know we’re going to get better this week.”

Next up for the ‘Birds are the Thompson Rivers WolfPack, who come to town for two matches next weekend. Now 7-0 at War Memorial Gym this season, the Thunderbirds will hope to keep performing well in front of their home crowd on January 31st and February 1st.