Revenge is sweet for UBC as they claim bronze at nationals over Calgary Dinos

Less than nine days after UBC lost to the Calgary Dinos in the Canada West final, UBC took their chance at revenge as they defeated Calgary in the U Sports national championship bronze medal game 3-1 (27-25, 19-25, 25-19 and 25-16) on Sunday morning.

A game-high 20 kills from Kiera Van Ryk and UBC’s ability to take advantage of Calgary service errors allowed the Thunderbirds to maintain any leads they had throughout the four sets.

Communication errors plagued the first half of set one as both teams let balls drop after the initial bump and point-for-point play settled in as the two familiar Canada West teams traded serves. No discernible lead emerged as the advantage was traded back and forth until late in the set when Calgary pulled ahead 23-21.

At a 24-22 set point, the Dinos failed to capitalize, allowing UBC to comeback and force their own set point at 26-25. Van Ryk’s kill to the left side of the court would win the set for the Thunderbirds 27-25.

Calgary would start the second set ahead 8-4, before the Thunderbirds took a timeout to regroup. UBC would tighten the lead slightly but by the technical timeout, Calgary had restored their four-point lead at 16-12.

A four-point run tied set two back up, but Calgary would not be outdone as they responded with a six-point run making it 23-17. A missed serve would give UBC a glimmer of hope, but the Dinos would finish set two ahead 25-19 after a UBC dig shot into the net.

Having changed personnel regularly throughout the match, UBC went back to their starting lineup for the start of set three — and boy, did it work. Ahead 10-3, UBC’s offence was attacking from every angle. After a timeout, Calgary’s defence and offence improved, cutting the lead to four by the time the technical timeout at 16-12.

Late in the set, UBC’s resilience shone as multiple rallies ended with impressive digs from their front line, allowing UBC to score. The Thunderbirds kept a minimum of a four-point pace, taking any momentum away from Calgary. After an official review, UBC won the set 25-19 after a Dinos attacking error. Both teams had a .230 kill percentage at the end of three sets.

UBC began the fourth frame with a three-point lead, extending it to 9-5 before the ’Birds head coach Doug Reimer received a warning for play stoppages with his frequent requests for reviews. The Thunderbirds pulled away from the Dinos as the set continued, getting their lead to eight before a Calgary timeout at 15-8.

Late in the set, the T-Birds doubled Calgary’s score at 18-9 as the Dinos struggled to find an answer for UBC’s offensive capabilities.

U Sports rookie of the year Van Ryk sealed the bronze medal for UBC as a mid-court kill won the set 25-16.

Laura McManes from Calgary and UBC’s Ciara Hanly were both named players of the match.

UBC’s bronze medal is surely not the result they hoped for in Quebec this week, but the hardware and the redemption against their Canada West conquerors will give some added sweetness to their weekend out East.

Even better, the team will see the vast majority of their team return next season, as captain Alessandra Gentile is the sole fifth-year on the roster. Who will take over her leadership role is one question up in the air — they have some time to answer it, though.

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