No. 1 'Birds power past No. 9 Bobcats in three straight

BRANDON - The no. 1 ranked UBC Thunderbirds (13-0) rebounded from a nail biting five set victory last night with a commanding 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-14, 25-20) of the no. 9 ranked Brandon Bobcats (8-4) on the road Saturday evening.

UBC head coach Doug Reimer was happy with the result, given this was UBC's fourth straight contest far from home against a top ten opponent.

"It was a much better performance tonight.  Our passing game really helped us side out at a high rate in all three sets.  We are very pleased with getting four wins on the road the last two weekends against two very good teams as we close out the prairie part of our schedule."

The T-Birds got big contributions from their outside hitters on Saturday as UBC notched 46 kills on .341 hitting compared to only 29 kills on .157 hitting for the host 'Cats.

Left sides Liz Cordonier and Shanice Marcelle combined for 22 kills and 17 digs while hitting .475 on the evening.  Setter Katie Tyzuk picked up an impressive 39 set assists in less than three sets of work and directed a potent UBC attack that only got better as they match went on.

"It was a very balanced effort on offence tonight and we had good contributions across the board," noted Doug Reimer.

The first set was a back and forth affair with Brandon leading 11-9 early on.  A seven point run by the 'Birds put the visitors up for good, with UBC holding on for the 25-23 win.

The second set saw another big run early on put UBC ahead 14-4.  That margin was too much for the 'Cats to overcome.

A six-point run midway through the third set gave the T-Birds another comfortable cushion and they cruised to their sixth win of the season over a ranked opponent.

The T-Birds will be at home for the first time in 2010 next weekend as they host the no.8 ranked Calgary Dinos.  Game times are scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on both Friday and Saturday night.

Source:

Ben Schach
UBC Sports Information Director