The UBC Thunderbirds men’s volleyball team opened up Thanksgiving weekend and the 2014-2015 regular season with a four-set victory over the MacEwan University Griffins in Edmonton.
After the first set was won by a high energy MacEwan team, the next three saw the Thunderbirds eager to quickly pass the time until Sunday’s turkey dinner, as they defeated the Griffins in a timely manner. Set scores were 22-25, 25-18, 25-13, 25-16.
“It wasn’t the way we wanted to start but MacEwan played well and played aggressively off the start,” said UBC head coach Richard Schick. “I thought we played extremely composed volleyball and I think we really turned things around. It just showed a lot of composure. We stuck with our plan and made it difficult for them throughout the night.”
Last year’s chemistry between setter Milan Nikic and left side Ben Chow was not lost over the offseason, as the two connected effectively from both the front row and the back. Chow, a First Team CIS All-Canadian last season, led the Thunderbirds with 13 kills on the evening.
“After slowing things down, we were able to play our game,” Chow said following the match. “I felt we were stable on side-out and were able to hold their runs.”
MacEwan, in their Canada West debut, came out aggressively in the first set. Right side Marcus Ernewein was named the Griffin player of the game for his team-leading 11 kills.
“We came in pretty loose in the first set,” said the third-year commerce student. “The main difference [in the rest of the game] was our block defence. We weren’t getting the touches we needed to on the net.”
MacEwan, former members of the Alberta College Athletic Conference, enters their first season at the CIS level.
Second-year outside hitter Irvan Brar had a stellar showing in his debut as starter for the Thunderbirds, tallying 12 kills. Right side Mac McNicol had 11 kills on the evening.
UBC’s pair of middles, Chris Howe and Alex Russell, provided Nikic with a balanced offensive assault. The towering frames of Howe and Russell earned eight and six kills, respectively, in addition to a combined five blocks.
Jarrid Ireland saw his first Canada West action since the 2012-2013 season. Ireland, who was out for last season in its entirety with an injury, entered the court with rookie setter Byron Keturakis midway through the third set in a double sub situation.
UBC looked confident through much of the match, beating the Griffins in every statistical category. Chow noted the Thunderbirds’ play at the net as key to the team’s success.
“It was nice to play defense behind our block tonight; our middles touched a lot, which made it easy on us,” he said. “All in all, I’m excited for tomorrow’s match to improve on our game.”
Courtesy of the Thunderbirds website
