Since coming back from the winter break, the women’s volleyball team has stayed consistent and sits second in the Canada West standings with 28 points.
On their first weekend back, the T-Birds dominated the University of Saskatchewan Huskies, defeating them 3–0 on back-to-back nights.
Next, the Thunderbirds faced rival school UBC Okanagan at home. The T-Birds downed the Heat 3–0 on Friday, January 13, with top-class performances by Erika Vermette and Elise Petit, who had 12 and 10 kills, respectively.
“It’s really exciting to be back,” said UBC outside hitter Petit after the match. “It has been a long and tough break to have in the middle of the seasons, but it’s been good to be back to it with these couple matches.”
The day after, the two rivals faced each other again at the War Memorial Gym. UBC Thunderbirds needed a win to secure the top spot in the Canada West table. After trading sets with the UBCO Heat, the Thunderbirds had an important 4–0 run and three back-to-back service aces by Lucy Borowski to end the third set with a winning result of 25–22 and took the game in the next set.
Though the victory secured their top spot in the conference standings, a doubleheader loss to the Mount Royal University Cougars dropped the ‘Birds to second, behind the Trinity Western Spartans. With a record of 14–4, the Thunderbirds have only conceded games to the Cougars and Spartans. One-off losses from the Spartans and Cougars have kept UBC up top. For the T-Birds, their consistent performance has been key.
The Thunderbirds are now on a bye week and will return to play on February 3 in Calgary. With six games left to go before playoffs, the Thunderbirds are looking hopeful for good results this season. UBC will host women’s volleyball U Sports nationals in March and hope to put on a good show at home.