Number-one seed UBC's women's volleyball team swept eighth-ranked Thompson Rivers University Wolfpack in straight sets on Friday and Saturday, advancing to the Canada West (CW) semi-finals.
The Thunderbirds were efficient in earning their victories against TRU, winning 25–15, 25–12, 25–12 on Friday and 25–13, 25–14, 25–16 on Saturday.
The weekend saw outside hitter Erika Vermette lead UBC in kills with 18. Outside hitter and CW second team all-star Akash Grewal wracked up six aces with setter Issy Robertshaw following with five. Middle Emma Doyon put up 11 blocks, a team-best.
The Thunderbirds hit a .464 and .292 hitting percentage on Friday and Saturday, respectively, compared to the Wolfpack’s .038 and -.096.
"I thought we blocked and defended well," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. " One of the things I talk about is our ability to extend rallies … and for us to do that consistently for six sets, I'm just super happy with that."
This weekend, UBC will face off against the University of Alberta Pandas in a best-of-three semi-final series.
UBC weekend swept the Pandas in three sets during their last match-up in January, but the fifth-ranked Pandas are coming to UBC after toppling the four-time defending CW champion Trinity Western Spartans.
Pandas outside hitter Lauryn Tremblay joined T-Bird outside hitter Lucy Borowski as a CW first team all-star. The Alberta squad bolsters freshman talent with middle Ronnie Dickson and outside hitter Abby Guezen both earning all-rookie team honours.
A semi-final win for either team advances them to the CW championship and wil give them an automatic berth in the U Sports championships hosted by McMaster University. A loss sends the team to the CW bronze medal match, where a win would send them to the U Sports championship. Regardless of the semi-final outcome, UBC will host the gold or bronze game at War Memorial Gym.
First serve for the semi-final match against the Pandas is 6 p.m. tomorrow at War Memorial Gym.