After five long and arduous sets in the second game of the Canada West quarter-finals, a resounding kill from left-side hitter Laura MacTaggart finished off the three-game series against the Brandon University Bobcats at the War Memorial Gym, sending the UBC women’s volleyball team into the semi-finals.
The ’Birds had won the previous night in three straight sets, a massive upset considering that they had lost twice to the Bobcats during regular season play. Friday’s game started with a Bobcats surge. The visitors had a 7-1 lead thanks to service aces and attack errors from the home side and they managed to keep some kind of lead for most of the game. For many in the stands, it seemed like a repeat of January’s match-up.
However, the T-Birds crept up on the Bobcats, turning a three-point deficit into a brilliant comeback. The T-Birds effectively killed the Bobcats’ set-point three times, overtaking the Bobcats and finishing off the set at 27-25.
The ensuing momentum was all the ’Birds needed in the second set as their preparation kicked in. They proceeded to take Bobcats apart point by point and a five-point streak late in the second set put them at 22-11. Bobcats’ Shanlee McLellan scored two service aces and threatened to come back, but the team literally dropped the ball due to attack errors and lost the set at 25-14.
The ’Birds completed the process in the third set, again finishing with set score of 25-14. After a four-point run and a six-point scoring spree, the ’Birds had more than doubled the Bobcat’s score at 13-6. The ’Birds kept pounding the opposition the entire set and they took the match at 25-14.
Attacking leaders for the first day were Juliana Kaufmanis and Danielle Brisebois with seven kills each and T-Bird middle Ciara Hanly made six kills. Alessandra Gentile’s presence was definitely felt as she made 24 assists, opposed to Brandon’s setter, Nikki Majewski, who made 17 assists.
The ’Birds eventually squashed the resistance on Friday when it mattered most, but the second night was closer. UBC faltered in two sets — the second and third — before eventually taking the game in the fifth.
In the final set, the Bobcats gained an initial three-point lead on the T-Birds at 5-2. It actually looked like the series would go to a third game at this point, but the ’Birds responded with a four-point run of their own and overtook the Bobcats at 6-5. The Thunderbirds and the Bobcats then engaged in a back-and-forth that ended with them both tied at 10 points. A three-point T-Bird surge put it in the bag for UBC and a MacTaggart kill finished off the Bobcats at 15-12.
On the second night, the top attackers were the usual suspects — Brisebois, MacTaggart and Kaufmanis who made 14, 11 and 10 kills respectively.
The Bobcats brought the fire, but the T-Birds had learned from their mistakes earlier in the year. They held it down in terms of returning services and did not let too many aces fly by them. Donata Huebert, the libero for Brandon, completely dominated the back row and held the defensive line with her receptions and digs. The ’Birds anticipated this and gave her a tough time. Both teams made way too many errors in the games though — UBC and Brandon made 25 and 13 errors respectively on the first night and both made 29 errors each on Saturday.
Brandon is already hosting the CIS nationals and thus already have a berth to the championships. The T-Birds will, however, be heading into the Canada West Playoff Final Four semi-final to battle for a spot in the finals.
The T-Birds will be facing their sister school and first-placed team in the Canada West, UBC Okanagan, on Friday, March 4 at 6 p.m.
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