The University of British Columbia Athletics

VANCOUVER – After an epic five-set struggle to beat the Manitoba Bisons on Friday night, the UBC Thunderbirds made much quicker work of the visitors on Saturday with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-17, 25-19) win at War Memorial Gym.

BOX SCORE
 
The Thunderbirds were spurred by an incredible performance by outside hitter Lisa Barclay, who racked up 22 kills on .528 hitting, adding two aces, two block assists and a solo block.


 
"Lisa swung the ball so much better tonight, and some of that was just better rhythm," said UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "I thought Kirsty Setterlund did a nice job delivering the ball and that built our confidence. I can't explain how it could have been that much different but I'm really happy to see that. It just shows what Lisa can bring."
 
The UBC offence was firing on all cylinders thanks to some great ball distribution by Setterlund, who tallied 47 assists. The 'Birds outhit Manitoba .398 to .066.
 
"I think Manitoba was a little better in every portion of the game yesterday, and especially defensively," Reimer said. "But because today I think we were passing the ball better and Lisa was rolling, I don't think they got on track defensively. We kept applying pressure."
 
The Bisons did a good job defensively on Barclay's partner on the outside, Rosie Schlagintweit, holding her to just six kills. But Alissa Coulter stepped up for the 'Birds to total 11 kills on .391 hitting to help maintain balance on the attack.
 
Abbey Keeping and Mariah Bruinsma added nine kills on only 12 attacks out of the middle, and they were each in on three blocks. Briana Liau Kent had a match-high 14 digs.
 
"We only struggled in maybe a couple of rotations in the third set," said Reimer. "It was very encouraging to see because we're a younger group and early in the season to be able to come back today after such a long, hard match yesterday, and put this performance together is really good for our overall team confidence."
 
Taylor Pischke led the Bisons once again with 11 kills on .321 hitting, adding five digs. Jordana Milne had eight kills and a solo block.
 
Manitoba falls to 2-2 with the loss, while UBC remains unbeaten at 4-0. The Bisons return home next weekend to host the Saskatchewan Huskies.
 
The T-Birds remain in Vancouver to finish a five-match home stand, as the Thompson Rivers WolfPack come to town for some afternoon action. UBC and TRU match up on Saturday, November 9 and Sunday November 10 at 1 p.m.

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