Aaron Martin / UBC Thunderbirds
VANCOUVER - The No. 2-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (2-0) are on to the Canada West Playoff semifinals after an impressive showing on Saturday night against the Regina Cougars (0-2).
At War Memorial Gym, the Thunderbirds completed the sweep of the best-of-three quarterfinals with a 3-0 win in Game 2 on Saturday, following up their 3-1 triumph from Friday night.
Final set scores were 25-17, 25-14, and 25-14
Olivia Furlan was a constant threat for the Thunderbirds, as the sophomore tied Anna Price for a team-high nine kills, while coming within one ace of tying the conference all-time playoff record for aces in a single game with seven (Jaki Ellis, of the Alberta Pandas, had eight back in a 2012 match against UBC).
Price's nine kills were accompanied by a pair of her own aces, while Kiera Van Ryk also notched eight kills and two aces. Fifth-year setter Alessandra Gentile netted 22 assists and 10 digs.
Ashlee Sandiford (six kills) and Diana Lumbala (five kills) led the visitors' attack on the evening. Satomi Togawa had 14 assists, and Taylor Ungar recorded 17 digs. Kathleen Enns had three block assists.
The contest opened up with Regina taking a commanding 6-0 lead right out of the gate, as the Cougars got kills from Lumbala, Enns, and an ace from Sandiford.
After a timeout. the 'Birds got back on equal footing with a 7-1 run of their own, a streak that included two of Furlan's five opening-set aces.
Another Lumbala kill put Regina up 15-11, but Furlan's next three aces came as part of a 9-0 UBC run that bridged the technical timeout, giving the 'Birds a 20-15 advantage heading into the frame's final stages.
Price got into the back-line fun with a couple aces of her own to help close out the set, with Van Ryk dropping a pair of bullet kills to seal the 25-17 decision for the hosts.
In the second stanza, the 'Birds took a page out of Regina's first-set playbook, claiming a 5-0 lead early off two more Furlan aces and kills from Price and Ciara Hanly. However, the 'Birds would never allow the Cougars to close the gap within three points.
The Thunderbirds were brilliant in the middle portion of the frame. Up 9-6, a 10-2 run that featured four kills from Furlan, a pair from Van Ryk and aces from Alessandra Gentile and Gabrielle Attieh put UBC firmly in control of both the set and match.
After claiming the second set 25-14, UBC took the third frame to demonstrate a well-balanced attack as they closed out the match and series.
Price was the star of that final set, racking up six kills, while Van Ryk, Attieh, and Furlan each had three. Van Ryk added two aces, while the 'Birds committed just five errors in their most efficient offensive set of the night.
UBC held Regina to just five kills and forced six Cougars errors in that frame.
Thunderbirds head coach Doug Reimer was pleased with his team's overall effort.
"After a bit of a shaky start I thought we did a great job," said Reimer. "We reduced our unforced errors compared to yesterday when we made way too many but still escaped and I think tonight the scoreboard reflects that sharper play."
Reimer also touched on the need to call his first timeout with his squad trailing 6-0 early in the first set.
"For us, I think it's composure and hanging in there a little longer, I mean I don't think it was anything I said, I think they recognized they can't keep making errors that way," Reimer continued. "Then we had a lot of players doing the right things moving forward, including getting right back into it with Olivia Furlan's serving which included five aces to help close out the set."
The Thunderbirds are set to host the third-seeded UBC Okanagan Heat in the semifinal round, with games set for March 2-3, and a deciding match on March 4, if necessary, at War Memorial Gym.
Saturday's loss ends Regina's 2017-18 season, a spectacular campaign that saw the team improve by nine victories. The Cougars have bettered their win total three years in a row, going from 1-23 in Canada West play in 2015-16 to 12-12 in 2017-18. The team does not lose any players to graduation.
PHOTO: Bob Frid / UBC Thunderbirds