The UBC Thunderbirds (9-3) will aim to keep the good times rolling this weekend when they face off against the Manitoba Bisons (7-7) at home on Friday, January 24th, and Saturday, January 25th.
The T-Birds have won seven matches in a row dating back to early November, and are 5-0 on home court so far this campaign. It’s a long-awaited homecoming for the team as they haven’t played at War Memorial Gym in nearly two months.
“It feels good getting back into the rhythm,” said Thunderbirds head coach Mike Hawkins. “This week we really feel like we’ve settled in and are getting back into the regular rhythm of a semester.”
Ranked No. 5 in the country coming into this weekend, the ‘Birds have been humming offensively to this point. Setter Mason Greves leads Canada West in assists per set at 10.8 and the outside hitter duo of Reeve Gingera and Gavin Moes each sit in the top eight in the conference in kills per set, making UBC the only team that can claim two players who rank that highly.
For Hawkins, a big key to that offensive efficiency begins right at the beginning of rallies.
“I think we’ve done a really good job of stabilizing our reception,” he remarked. “We’ve been in positive pass scenarios a lot, and then Mason is doing a good job of distributing the offence…I still think there’s some areas, especially out of system, where we can be a little bit cleaner, but all-in-all quite pleased with the offence.”
On the defensive end, the ‘Birds remain the top team in Canada West in terms of digs, with Logan Greves (2.5 digs per set) and Mason Greves (2.13) ranking first and second in the conference in that category.
Although there are still eight more matches remaining in the regular season, UBC could potentially officially clinch their spot in the playoffs as soon as this weekend, depending on their matches and some out-of-town results. A sweep over the Bisons would also put them in prime position to earn a top six seed and the first-round bye that comes with it in the new Canada West playoff format.
This year, the postseason begins with the teams seeded seventh through tenth all playing in a best-of-three play-in round to make it to the similarly best-of-three Canada West Quarterfinals the following weekend. The winners of that round then play in a Final Four on March 7th and 8th, single elimination matches all hosted in one gym by the highest remaining seed.
Manitoba currently sits tied for that all-important sixth seed in the Canada West standings, coming off a series split last weekend on the road at UBC Okanagan. The Bisons are 3-1 so far in the new year, earning a pair of impressive wins at home against Trinity Western two weeks ago.
Like the T-Birds, the Bisons have a balanced group of outside hitters on the attack, with Spencer Grahame, Karil Dadash Adeh and Owen Weekes all averaging over two kills per set. UBC will have to be strong on their serve receive as Manitoba leads the entire country in aces per set (2.46).
“They’re definitely a team that likes to bomb the ball,” added Hawkins. “We know they’re a really tough team, for years we’ve had nothing but really tough series against them. So, it’s going to be important for us to stabilize our reception and give ourselves quality opportunities to make them uncomfortable.”
Opening serve for the two matches this weekend are 7:30 p.m. (PT) on Friday and 6:00 p.m. (PT) on Saturday at War Memorial Gym.