CALGARY – It was about as close as a straight-sets match can get, but the UBC Thunderbirds edged the University of Calgary Dinos women's volleyball team 3-0 (27-25, 25-23, 25-21) on Saturday night at the Jack Simpson Gym.

After Friday's more decisive result, the Dinos pushed UBC in every set, but the Thunderbirds were sharper in key moments to complete the weekend sweep. The Thunderbirds have now won four straight, climbing to 13-3, while the Dinos losing streak is now at five. They will be battling for playoff position in their last four games versus Mount Royal and Thompson Rivers.

The first set was tight the whole way through, with the largest lead coming at 14-11, the Dinos leading by three. But kills from Thunderbirds Kylee Glanville and Jocelyn Lenarcic, plus an ace, tied the first up at 17. The teams traded points until 25-25, where UBC scored two straight points to take the set. 

"I think today was a much better reflection of what we're capable of," said Dinos head coach Christine Biggs after the hard-fought loss. "We were better at adhering to the game plan and had an excitement about the battle."

The second was a set of runs, as the Dinos jumped to a 5-2 early lead and the Thunderbirds battled back to go up 10-6 before everything was tied up at 16. A Dinos service error would give the Thunderbirds set point at 24-22, but an Anya Fehr kill gave the Dinos the chance to tie it up at 24. UBC prevailed, though, and took the second set 25-23.

It looked like UBC would run away with the third, taking a commanding 8-2 lead before a Calgary timeout. But the Dinos hit back, winning five straight points to bring themselves back within one.

Things were once again even at 16, and the teams traded points until the third was tied at 21 apiece. Four straight UBC kills from Lucy Borowski, Sol Henson twice, and Jocelyn Lenarcic won UBC the set and the game, as they took the third 25-21 and the match 3-0.

Leni Blanke finished with 12 kills to lead Calgary, while Glanville compiled 16 for UBC.

"It was good to see the things we spent time and energy on translating into today," said Biggs. "We just have to continue to show up and work hard every day and prioritize progress moving forward."

The Dinos will head to Mount Royal to take on the Cougars next on Feb. 6 and 7 in two massive games for their playoff hopes. The Thunderbirds will be at Fraser Valley, also on Feb. 6, looking to keep the momentum rolling.

-UC-