BRANDON – The host BU Bobcats picked up a huge five-set win 3-2 (25-23, 20-25, 24-26, 25-16, 15-13) over the visiting UBC Thunderbirds Friday night at the BU Healthy Living Centre.
The two teams exchanged blows in a hard-fought first set that Brandon narrowly edged thanks to a 3-1 run to end the frame. The second set was all UBC as the Thunderbirds never trailed once in the set, taking it 25-20.
The third set was another tight one. UBC faced set point at 23-24 before rattling off three straight points to take the set 26-24 and get their first lead of the match at 2-1.
The Bobcats built some momentum in the fourth set and made quick work of the Thunderbirds winning the set 25-16.
The Thunderbirds worked hard to end the Bobcat's run in the fifth set. Both teams exchanged leads until the Bobcats went on a three-point run making the game 14-12. The Thunderbirds served against match point at 13-14, but fifth-year middle and team captain Brendan White nabbed a kill to finish off the set and the match.
Sam Tuivai had a big night for the Bobcats with 19 kills, six digs, and five blocks. Sebastien Steigmeier added 14 kills, eight digs, and five blocks. Frank Jones notched 10 kills on just 15 swings, which earned him an impressive .533 attack percentage for the evening. Jones also nabbed eight blocks.
Ben Chow led the Thunderbirds with 18 kills and seven digs. Mac McNicol had 14 kills and five digs on the night.
Head coach Grant Wilson is pleased with how his team played and is already anticipating how his team can improve for tomorrow's game.
"We just need to be a little more consistent. When we played well, we played really well and when we played poorly we played quite poorly. We allowed then to gain a lot of momentum and they are far too good a team for us to allow to do that. Hopefully we can clean things up on our side before tomorrow's match," says Wilson.
UBC had several lineup changes throughout the match, but Wilson is confident that his team will be ready for the rematch,
"At the end of the day, we know who their key guys are and know some of the things to be prepared for tomorrow."
The win brings BU's record to 13-4 and UBC falls to 10-7.
Both teams will face off again Saturday night at the Healthy Living Centre, with the first serve at 6:45 pm.