CALGARY - The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds got revenge on the previous night's game, as they defeated the University of Calgary Dinos 3-0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-22) on Jan. 31 at the Jack Simpson Gymnasium.
With the weekend split, the Thunderbirds remain at .500 with a record of 11-11 while the Dinos finish their regular season at 11-13.
Keith West led the Dinos with 10 kills and seven digs, followed by Brendan Visser who recorded seven kills and seven digs. The Thunderbirds were led by Mac McNicol with 10 kills and setter Milan Nikic who had a game-high of 34 assists and seven digs.
UBC came out to an early 3-0 lead in the first set, but the Dinos responded with a three point run of their own. The two teams went back and forth through the middle of the set until a six point run by the T-birds put them ahead 18-14. Calgary battled back to within one, but that is as close as they would get with UBC taking the first set 25-21.
The Dinos took the initial advantage in the second set with a comfortable 14-10 lead midway through the frame, but UBC managed to tie it up at 17 thanks to consecutive blocks from Quentin Schmidt. The two teams remained tied up to 20 when the Thunderbirds pulled away, taking the second straight set 25-22.
Calgary had another strong start to the third set, but once again, they failed to hold onto their advantage as a four point run from UBC gave them their first lead of the set, 15-14. The Dinos did not go down easily, responding with a four point serving run from Sean Tuff to regain the edge over the T-birds.
Some heavy blocking from UBC tied the score at 19 and they stayed even until 21, but Calgary was unable to solve the Thunderbirds defence as they surrendered the third and final set by a score of 25-22.
The Thunderbirds will head home to face the University of Regina for their final weekend of regular season play, Feb. 6-7. The Dinos have a bye next weekend, so they will be depending on the results from around the league to determine whether they earn a playoff position.