T-Birds take the win in first home game of the new year

The UBC Thunderbirds (10-3) shook off a slow start and won three straight sets to defeat the visiting Manitoba Bisons (7-8) and take the match in four overall (23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-21).

The T-Birds were shorthanded on the night, with star outside hitter Reeve Gingera unavailable and head coach Mike Hawkins hampered by illness. Lead assistant Jay Tremonti stepped in as acting head coach, and on the court the ‘Birds stepped up and performed well.

“I think the beautiful thing about this team is we’ve just got a ton of depth, and a ton of versatility,” said Tremonti. “We’re definitely a different team without Reeve on the court, but all the credit to the guys who stepped in today.”

Gavin Moes had a massive night with 21 kills and six digs, with Dawson Pratt adding 15 kills and four blocks. Mason Greves recorded 50 assists, 10 digs and four blocks to lead a T-Birds offence that was humming in the final three sets.

Owen Weekes had a big night for the Bisons, notching 13 kills, 11 digs and three aces, all season-highs. Karil Dadash Adeh was a handful as well with nine kills, four digs, five blocks and five aces.

The first set began ominously for the ‘Birds, as the Bisons’ strong defence at the net led to a series of early blocks. Dadash Adeh ripped off three aces in quick succession as part of an extended serving run that made it 19-10 for the visitors.

Eventually the Thunderbirds found their footing, and fought to make a comeback bid. Moes led the way with six kills in the opening set, and a couple of aces from Pratt cut the deficit to just four points. An ace from Greves made it 24-23, but the Bisons closed out the set at the last possible moment to take it 25-23 with a kill from Jordon Heppner.

Despite losing the set in the end, the T-Birds took the momentum they gained and carried it forward to the rest of the match. The Bisons dominated from the service line early with six aces in the first set, but only managed five for the rest of the night.

“I think we just had to see each of those servers once or twice,” added Tremonti. “All the credit to Logan Greves there, he’s the general back there and he really reads the game at a high level. I thought we made a couple small adjustments that made our lives easier, we started to get some better passes and Mason could run his offence.”

The second set was very back-and-forth early. After Jesse Umoren served an ace of his own to tie the score at 9-9, there were ties at six points in a row before Moes landed a kill and block on consecutive plays to make it 16-14.

The T-Birds carried that lead into the final stages of the set, when Moes and Kieran Robinson-Dunning combined on a block which was followed immediately by a kill from Pratt to push the lead to 24-21. The Bisons made it interesting at the death with two points in a row, but a big kill from Pratt finished off the set.

Not wanting to fall behind in set count, the Bisons came out hot in the third and took an early 7-2 lead. An ace from Nik Reimer helped stem the bleeding for the T-Birds, but they were forced to call their second timeout of the set when Dadash Adeh landed his fifth ace to make it 16-11 for the Bisons.

From there though, the ‘Birds went on an 8-3 run, with Umoren and Reimer combining on a block to knot things up at 19 apiece. The Bisons earned themselves set point by going up 24-22, but couldn’t close it out as the T-Birds ripped off four points in a row to take the set. Owen Lam served two straight thunderous aces to the roar of the crowd to put his team up 2-1 overall.

The fourth set had another even beginning, with UBC nudging out in front 8-5 after a series of kills from Pratt and Robinson-Dunning. The T-Birds were able to play from the front for the rest of the set, holding Manitoba at arm’s length.

A powerful kill from Lam followed by a solo block from Greves made it 21-15, and the ‘Birds closed it out from there. Pratt ended the night with a kill, and UBC earned their 10th victory of the season.
 

?? MVB | @ubcmvb outlasted the Manitoba Bisons 3-1 to improve to 10-3 on the @CanadaWest regular season Friday night at War Memorial Gym.

3rd-year outside hitter Gavin Moes stepped up to lead the way with 21 kills for the T-Birds & shared his thoughts on the victory.

?? : pic.twitter.com/xTJ0c2SpiZ

— UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) January 25, 2025

The two teams will be right back at it on Saturday night. The rematch begins at 6:00 p.m. (PT) at War Memorial Gym.