VANCOUVER – On a historic night of service from Matt Neaves, the UBC Thunderbirds won a 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-13) victory over the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades to convincingly sweep their home opener.
“We knew they were going to come out strong even without Nimo Benne,” said the UBC head coach. Mike hawkins after back-to-back home wins to start the season. “We knew it would be a proud squad that was going to really push us tonight. Thanks to them they came out with a lot of energy and shooting in defense which meant that we had to play well. I don’t think it was. Either way. perfect tonight, but at the end of the day we found a way to win three sets. “
Neaves clocked a career-high nine aces in the game, breaking a Thunderbirds record and tied for second all-time in a single game in Canada West history.
“With Neaves, it’s a huge credit for the work he put in,” said Hawkins after the record performance serving the third-year T-Bird. “His service has lasted for years, it’s not just a flash in the pan. For him, it’s good for him to be successful right away and for us to be successful on the service line is such a big part of who we are and what we’re going to do It’s a good start but we have a long way to go.
Neaves added nine assists, five digs and three assists, while Michael dowhaniuk racked up 10 kills, the team’s top, with two aces and two digs.
“We definitely saw our potential in these games,” said Dowhaniuk. “The challenge is going to be to keep us at this high level every weekend. It was a little scary to arrive because it’s been a year and a half since we played on this pitch so it was good. to have the crowd support and probably the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of here definitely calmed the nerves so that was good. “
?? MVB | @ubcmvb‘s Michael dowhaniuk after sweeping the @UFVCascades to open the @CanadaWest season pic.twitter.com/NWXV8zKhy8
– UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) November 14, 2021
Caleb Kastelein led the Cascades with nine kills, Jonas Van Huizen had three kills and 10 assists with two aces and three digs, and Ryan Adams had four kills in the loss as the UFV remained in the limelight. looking for his first Canada West victory.
UBC secured a 9-5 lead in the first set over back-to-back points from Neaves with an ace and a kill. Dowhaniuk increased their lead to 13-6 with a pair of aces and the Birds took a 16-9 advantage in the technical timeout. Neaves clocked an ace for a 21-13 lead that forced a time out for Cascades, and the teams traded serve errors to make it 24-15 ‘Birds. The UFV extended the set up to Zarley Zalusky closed it with a kill at 25-17.
Eduardo Ferreira served up an ace early, but Dowhaniuk wiped out the 6-3 ‘Birds run with a kill. Coltyn liu gave the T-Birds a six-point cushion with one of his six kills at 13-7, before the UFV reduced it to four with a Kastelein block at 15-11 and hit back at one on a streak of UBC errors at 15-14. Ferreira completed the comeback with an ace at 15-15 and the Cascades won a rally marathon to tie again at 16-16, but a clear violation against the UFV put the Birds back two and a serve error gave UBC a 20-17 lead. Jacques Vincett threw a kill at 22-18 but Neaves smoked his own kill for a 23-20 advantage and the T-Birds won the set on a kill by Neaves at 25-21.
Neaves came off the service line early in the third set, as he helped UBC take an 11-3 lead with two back-to-back aces and served their fifth set ace at 14-3 before UFV does not ultimately stop the race. The ‘Birds led 16-6 on the technical time-out and led 21-9 on a Mason Strikes as. Up to 24-13, Zec johnson Rightly served an ace to close the set and the match 25-13.
?? MVB | On the strength of a solid portion @ubcmvb ends the weekend sweep with another 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-13) win over @UFVCascades to improve to 2-0 on the young season! #GoBirdsGo pic.twitter.com/ECuVS1tyZw
– UBC Thunderbirds (@ubctbirds) November 14, 2021
“These are the games we’re preparing for,” Hawkins said as the Birds have a week of conference play before they travel to face the Trinity Western Spartans. “We know they’re going to be a tough team in our division, our conference and the country. We always have good battles with them. It’s good that we have a week off to prepare, get back in shape and prepare for the Spartans. “
Thunderbirds face Spartans on November 26e and 27e on the road in Langley, while the Cascades are also enjoying a week off before hosting the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.
