UBC edge Winnipeg in last battle of 2025

VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (8-2) mounted a comeback for the second night in a row to defeat the visiting Winnipeg Wesmen (2-8) 3-1 (21-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-20) at War Memorial Gym on Saturday night.

"Coaches will talk about your compete level, like how you play at key times or crunch times down the stretch in volleyball," explained UBC head coach Doug Reimer. "In the first set, Winnipeg really outplayed us in a lot of those areas, and we didn't compete well. But after that, we did really well. We were down in the third set by four or five points, and we hung in there and just did better in all areas. Overall, I was really pleased with how well we competed and battled in sets two, three, and four, but especially three and four down the stretch."



Fifth year outside hitter Lucy Borowski led the blue and gold with 18 kills, Kylee Glanville had 12 kills and six aces, while Elizabeth Lee recorded 11 kills and an ace.

For the Wesmen, Megan Kendziora and Brooke Duncalfe tied for a team-high 13 kills, with Kendziora recording two aces. Grace Vallis added six to the tally.



Ella Werbiski served an ace for a 9-5 Wesmen lead early in the first frame. UBC responded with a string of points culminating in a Glanville kill to get within one at 10-9. The score stayed close, but it was the visitors who took the opener 25-21 off a 'Birds attacking error.

UBC's Lee evened the score at 4-all with a kill in the second set, before an impressive eight-point Glanville service run, including four aces, gave UBC a 15-5 edge. Borowski fired cross court for 17-10 UBC, and later brought the set home at 25-20.



The teams traded points at the start of the third until Winnipeg pulled away on a Kendziora kill at 14-10. Glanville capped off a huge rally with a kill for the 'Birds before a Wesmen net violation tied up the score at 16-16. UBC pushed to set point first, and an Abby Wasutyk finish took the nail-biting set 25-21.

After dropping a crucial third set, Wesmen stormed out to a 6-1 lead in the fourth. The 'Birds crawled their way out of the deficit with big hits from Borowski, Lee, and Leonora Barbulovich-Nad, eventually evening the score at 15-15. Issy Robertshaw sent a cheeky set over the net for a 21-19 UBC advantage, before a Barbulovich-Nad and Robertshaw double block shut down the visitors, taking the fourth 25-20.



"We term this resiliency week, because it's the end of the term, and everybody's tired," said Reimer. "We've got some injuries and our league is very tough. Through the break, we've got to try and find a way to manage our overall wellness, while also focusing on getting better at some specific things. We've had to battle really hard every weekend and we faced really tough injuries, so I'm really proud of our group for battling."

The Thunderbirds now look forward to the winter break before returning back to play on the weekend of January 9 in Saskatchewan vs the Huskies.