VANCOUVER, B.C. – While they were able to push the match to the full five sets, the Thunderbirds (5-1) were unable to keep their undefeated start to the season going as a scrappy Thompson Rivers side (1-5) earned their first victory of the campaign (25-21, 19-25, 22-25, 25-22, 15-11).
“Kudos to TRU, they came in and they made plays,” said UBC head coach Mike Hawkins. “They want to turn games into bar fights because that’s their style of play, and I mean that as a compliment. They’re really difficult to play against no matter who’s on the floor for them, but at the end of the day I told our guys that you have to make plays to win. We only had three kills in the fifth set, six attack errors.
“There’s lots for us to evaluate objectively, but I told the guys that this wasn’t going to be a perfect season. We probably weren’t going to go 20-0. But can we be good enough to handle the ups and downs and keep getting better?”
It wasn’t the prettiest of matches, with UBC and TRU hitting .181 and .202, respectively, and combining for 59 service errors and just six aces.
Alex Borowski had a big performance in his first start of the year, with 14 kills, three digs and four blocks. Dawson Pratt recorded 11 kills, six digs and four blocks, while Daniel Lewis dished out 37 assists to go along with six digs.
Alex Howard had 19 kills and five blocks for the visitors, while Mostafa Tayea put up 17 kills, three digs and six blocks. Setter Walker Sodaro stuffed the stat sheet with 49 assists and 15 digs.
The first set was very tight for much of the early going, with neither side leading by more than two points until a couple of UBC errors put the WolfPack up 15-12. Kills from Tayea and Howard helped maintain their lead, although they were made to sweat when Pratt led a late offensive charge that made it 23-21 for TRU late. A block from Elliott Rourke and Britain Ward ended the set just two points later, however, making the WolfPack the first team to lead in set count against the ‘Birds at any point this season.
Determined to even the score, Borowski landed a kill before teaming up with Darik Feasey on a block to spark a 5-1 run that gave the Thunderbirds a 20-16 lead in the second. Some TRU service errors and more good blocking from the likes of Feasey, Pratt and Alex Emery proved to be just what the T-Birds needed, as they turned what had been a 15-15 tie into a 25-19 win.
That momentum carried over into the beginning of the third, with a Sodaro service error immediately followed by a Wil Basilio ace. The T-Birds never trailed at any point in the middle frame, despite multiple ties and the WolfPack never letting the hosts get too much separation.
After an Emery kill put the ‘Birds at set point up 24-20, the WolfPack staved off the first two attempts before another service error sunk their hopes of a dramatic comeback and put them down 2-1 in set count.
But while it looked like the Thunderbirds had fully turned the tide, the WolfPack continued to fight tooth and nail to stay in the match. A solo block by Tayea put the visitors up 16-12 in the fourth, giving them their largest lead of the set. They kept it from there, forcing a fifth and final set inside War Memorial Gym.
After the WolfPack scored four of the first six points to take the lead, a three-point burst that included a Daniel Hitchens ace made it 10-5 TRU. The T-Birds fought hard, and scored three unanswered of their own after falling behind 13-8, but couldn’t fully climb out of that hole before Hitchens and Tayea ended the match with a block on Borowski.
The Thunderbirds will look to rebound on a trip out east next weekend, as they head to Brandon to take on the Bobcats on November 13 and 14.