Box Score VANCOUVER, B.C. — The U SPORTS No. 4-ranked UBCO Heat (15-4) dropped a straight-sets decision to the No. 1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds (18-1) on Friday, losing 15-25, 20-25, 15-25 at War Memorial Gym.
Xander van Driel led the Heat with seven kills on 16 attempts, achieving a .375 hitting percentage, and added four digs.
Lucas Woelders chipped in with five kills and a solo block, totalling seven points.
Dominic Sodaro, who came into the match in the second set, facilitated the offence with 11 assists and added a service ace.
UBC's standout players made the difference in the match. Reeve Gingera led with 15.5 points, contributing 12 kills, three service aces, and one block assist. Mason Greves was pivotal in setting up the offence with 37 assists and adding three service aces.
The Thunderbirds took control early in the first set, using a series of service aces and kills to secure a 25-15 win. Greves played a crucial role with assists and two service aces that widened the gap. Although the Heat tied the score twice, service and attack errors stalled their momentum. UBC capitalized on these mistakes to maintain their lead throughout the set.
The second set saw the Thunderbirds leveraging service aces and effective kills to secure a 25-20 win over UBCO. UBC gained momentum with an early 5-0 run, highlighted by two service aces from Alex Emery. Gingera led the attack with multiple kills, while UBCO countered with blocks from Woelders and
Ashton South. Despite efforts, including service aces by
Dominic Sodaro, UBC clinched the set with a service ace by Parker Ocampo.
In the third set, Heat head coach
Scott Koskie turned to his substitutes as the entire starting lineup was taken out of the match.
Rory O'Brien,
Mika Feilberg and
Sam Jablonski all got significant playing time alongside Sodaro, Woelders and South. The Heat battled hard but the UBC sealed the third set with a 25-15 score, driven by consistent offensive execution and service aces.
These two teams will matchup once again to wrap up the regular season on Saturday, February 14. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. and the match can be seen live on CanadaWest.tv presented by BioSteel.
