Aaron Martin/UBC Thunderbirds
VANCOUVER -- Despite the set count, the UBC Thunderbirds women's volleyball team (5-1) weren't perfect on Friday night. Yet, the Blue and Gold still found a way to get the job done, sweeping the Thompson Rivers Wolfpack (2-4) 3-0 at War Memorial Gym.
The 'Birds got terrific showings out of their young outside hitters, as Kiera Van Ryk (game-high 13 kills) and Gabrielle Attieh (nine kills, 0.615 hitting percentage, game-high five aces) were UBC's catalysts on the attack. Senior setter Alessandra Gentile was excellent with 33 assists and eight digs, and the Birds took the sets by 25-23, 25-21, and 25-18 margins.
Gentile moved into the top 15 in the Canada West record books for conference career assists with 2,442.
Rachel Windhorst led TRU with 12 kills while Kendra Finch had 10 digs. Anastasiya Muzyka paced the 'Pack attack with 20 assists.
"Overall, we ran a better, more consistent offence tonight in terms of our tempo," noted UBC head coach Doug Reimer.
However, the fact that the margins could have been much larger – UBC twice led by at least seven points in the opening frame, before fighting off a TRU comeback with a two-point victory – is something Reimer will look to rectify as the club moves forward.
"It's a little frustrating that we didn't continue to push through the leads," assessed the coach. "Look at the third set as an example, where we're up 8-2, and then it becomes 8-8. That's just some errors, and we can't be satisfied with that and letting teams back in. Same thing in the first set – I think we had 10-point leads? Obviously, they're going to do some, and there's going to be rhythm with that, but it can't be that extreme."
Between the first and third frames was a thrilling second stanza, as neither side held a lead larger than three points until the set's final run. Yevgeniya Nyukhalova's kill made it 10-8 for TRU before the hosts took the next three points. The two sides traded points, with Mikayla Funk and Kaitlin Lomas combining on a block that closed the 'Pack's deficit to 21-20. Going up 22-20 on a kill from sophomore Olivia Furlan, the 'Birds put the hammer down with a 4-1 stretch that saw a Van Ryk ace followed by Gentile-aided kills from Ciara Hanly and Victoria Behie.
The 'Birds streakiness reared its head again in the final frame. As Reimer alluded to, UBC allowed the WolfPack to claw their way back from an 8-2 deficit. After a sideout on a 'Birds service error, TRU won the next five points with Windhorst serving. Then, another 7-1 run flipped the momentum back to the hosts' side and the Thunderbirds didn't let up again, coasting to the 25-18 triumph.
"We don't have to be great, we have to be good for a long period of time," said Reimer. "Being great doesn't matter if you give it all away."
The T-Birds will look to both reign in the consistency and keep their four-game win streak alive next week as they head into Edmonton to take on the Alberta Pandas (7-1, 5-1). The 'Birds and Pandas will kick off the first game of a back-to-back series next Friday, November 17.
The WolfPack are back on the road next weekend, with a pair of against the Winnipeg Wesmen.
PHOTO: Wilson Wong/UBC Thunderbirds