Aaron Martin / UBC Thunderbirds
VANCOUVER - It was closer than they would have liked, but the no. 2-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (22-4, 20-3) came away victorious over the Saskatchewan Huskies (9-14, 9-14) on Friday night at War Memorial Gym, edging out the visitors 3-1 in the opening match of the Canada West's final regular season series.
A dominant final frame for UBC belied a much closer match overall, as the set scores read 29-27, 21-25, 25-21, and 25-13.
The result puts the Huskies' playoff chances in dire jeopardy, as ninth-place Saskatchewan would need to sweep UBC in the season finale tomorrow, while the eighth-place Manitoba Bisons (10-13) would need to fall to the UBCO Heat (5-18) in straight sets.
"Usually, our offense goes through our middle, but tonight Keith [West] and Fynn [McCarthy] had it going, and we got offense through our pins," broke down Kerry McDonald. "That's probably the biggest strength of our offense in that when somebody gets shut down, we have enough talent all over the court that can take charge."
McCarthy continued his spectacular form from recent weeks, as the freshman notched a career-high 20 kills on just 29 swings (.552), tacking on an ace and four digs. West and Irvan Brar each picked up 10 kills, with West adding a game-high four aces. Fourth-year Colin Fraser had 14 kills for the visitors, while rookie Dylan Mortensen had 10.
"We've just moved him from middle to the right side in the second half [of the season], and he's continuing to learn the position and maximize his athletic ability," noted McDonald of McCarthy. "It's a growing phase that he's continuing to go through, and every week he continues to find another gear."
After being bottled up on offense most of the night, UBC bolted out to an 8-0 run in the fourth frame with a pair of McCarthy and Brar kills leading the way. The 'Birds cruised the rest of the way, getting kills from six different attackers, including rookie Coltyn Liu, six team blocks, and three aces in the final frame.
"Our serving was able to break them down, while our blocking at the net was on point, and then they made a few more errors that we took advantage of," said McDonald.
Though the first two frames saw the 'Birds pick up a split, winning by just two points in a back-and forth opening frame before dropping the second, McDonald clearly wasn't thrilled about his squad's performance.
However, the UBC coach also heaped heavy praise on the Huskies' style of play
"They are a really strong serving and passing team, and I thought they were good on that," said McDonald of the huskies. "And they're a really scrappy defensive team, and in the one they one, and when it was close, they were able to break down our service game, get us out of system a lot, and put us in tough spots. They're a much stronger team than their record would indicate."
The third frame was close early on, with UBC holding just a 16-15 lead at one point. Kills from McCarthy, West, and setter Byron Keturakis were key in creating some separation, as UBC turned a 6-2 stretch into a 22-17 advantage. After a Keturakis kill and ace put the 'Birds at set point, McCarthy drove in the dagger to make it 25-19.
The 'Birds are essentially locked into their second-overall seeding in the Canada West playoff race, but McDonald is still looking to make the most of tomorrow's finale.
"We're lucky in this league to play excellent competition, no matter who we're playing, so we need to make the most of it as we get read," said the UBC coach.
UBC and Saskatchewan will get close out their seasons with a final showdown at War Memorial Gym tomorrow, with the opening serve set for 6:30 p.m. PT.
PHOTO: Bob Frid / UBC Thunderbirds