slayed the house down//

'Birds sweep WolfPack on Pride Night

On Friday night, War Memorial Gym was adorned in rainbow flags as UBC Volleyball hosted their annual Pride Night celebration in partnership with the Vancouver Gay Volleyball Association. Both the women’s and men’s teams dominated the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack, winning straight sets in front of a full crowd.

Women soar to victory with decisive blocks

UBC’s women’s volleyball team bounced back from last weekend’s loss to the University of Manitoba Bisons, with gritty 25–23, 25–18 and 25–21 set wins.

The Thunderbirds started a little slow, going point for point due to some communication errors. But the team got it together after solid blocks by first-year Leonora Barbulovich-Nad and two Lucy Borowski kills. They went back and forth with the WolfPack, earning points with strategic, soft kills that slipped past defenders. A kill from captain Trinity Solecki earned set point and a TRU attack error gave the T-Birds the first set, 25–23.

During the break, UBC alumni drag queen Acacia gave the crowd a show, complete with a neon green outfit and a dance to “When Love Takes Over” by David Guetta that got the crowd hyped.

UBC's mascot, a blue and yellow Thunderbird, poses indoors with a Caucasian woman wearing a rainbow lei.
Thunder poses with a fan during Pride Night celebrations. Amy Ryu / The Ubyssey

It worked in the T-Birds’ favour, starting 5–1 in the second set, and two kills from Solecki increased their lead to 7–2. Their momentum continued and a big block by Issy Robertshaw and Barbulovich-Nad started UBC on a 10–4 run.

“I thought both of our middles, neither of whom have huge amounts of experience, ... did a really good job for us on the block in front,” said UBC head coach Doug Reimer.

An Emelie Silvos kill put the score at 19–10, although UBC had a slower time clinching the win. TRU bounced back to 23–16, but a Silvos block got them the 25–18 win.

UBC opened the third set in dominant fashion, starting 5–1 with Borowski and Silvos kills. Borowski continued her attack, adding 5 more kills in the T-Birds’ next 11 points.

“It's just super important to ... really work with what's given to us,” said Solecki. “I think so far, all of our offensive hitters have been doing a really good job getting kills and putting the score up.”

After a timeout, TRU stunned the home team with a 6–0 run to come close to the lead, 19–17. But UBC walked away with a win, capitalizing on errors and a Borowski kill to end the match 25–21.

The ‘Birds increased to 14–2 with a Saturday night win over TRU, but for the team, the support and allyship shown in Pride Night was more important.

“I like the fact that a lot of people come and they know it's gonna be a fun night, enjoyable night, but with a bit of a purpose, where everybody should feel welcome here all the time,” said Reimer. “I'm really proud of our group for how well they just embraced all aspects of it.”

Men top WolfPack in tight sets

A male volleyball player in a blue jersey in the middle of a spike hit.
Dawson Pratt goes for a kill. Amy Ryu / The Ubyssey

The UBC men’s volleyball team defeated TRU dominantly in the first set, 25–14. They started with a 5–1 run, with help from transfer Owen Lam on the service line. Their lead increased to 8–3 as the WolfPack hit out of bounds.

As the Thunderbirds continued to lead the game, TRU called two close time-outs to try to generate momentum, but were shut down by the ‘Birds. Libero Mason Greves led UBC in strategic moves, allowing TRU to give them out-of-bounds points. Two consecutive aces from Gavin Moes put the ‘Birds up 20–11 and a kill from first-year Alex Borowski sealed the win.

“TRU is always a really difficult match up. They are a really gritty, really feisty team, and … you could tell they didn't like the way that they started the match in the first set, and the second two sets were just them going at it,” said UBC men’s head coach Mike Hawkins.

In the second set, there was a lot more back and forth between the teams — neither team was ahead by more than three points ahead until a kill from UBC’s Kieran Robinson-Dunning put them up 14–9. Their lead continued, until a TRU ball-handling error led to a lengthy break, resulting in a yellow card. The break created a mental block for the ‘Birds, whose subsequent errors created a tie for the WolfPack.

Now 18–18, Moes and Lam retook the lead and errors put the set win within UBC’s grasp. Although TRU wasn’t far behind, kills from Robinson-Dunning and Moes finished the set 25–22.

In the third set, the WolfPack continued to keep the pressure on, the score consistently staying within two points. The Thunderbirds recovered well from blocked kills or failed blocks, having longer rallies, to the delight of the crowd. TRU pulled ahead near the end, 22–20, but UBC forced errors to be within match point. A kill from Moes ended the game, 25–23.

“I'm just proud of the way that our guys weathered that storm and we're able to come to win,” said Hawkins.

Their win marked the team’s tenth consecutive win and left the crowd in the gym leaving with high heads, in addition to the colourful atmosphere.

“We have a lot of pride playing on Pride night, and it's just an incredible environment to play for us,” said Hawkins. “We're grateful for a great show, great crowd tonight.”

Both teams have their next game in Edmonton against the University of Alberta.

A group of university male volleyball players in sleeveless jerseys huddle together.
“We're grateful for a great show, great crowd tonight," said Hawkins. Amy Ryu / The Ubyssey

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