UBCO Heat Volleyball report January 11

The UBC Okanagan Heat men's volleyball team once again gave the visiting U SPORTS No. 7-ranked UBC Thunderbirds a run for their money on Saturday at the UBCO Gymnasium but once again fell in four sets with sets scores of 15-25, 25-22, 15-25, and 22-25 in front of 150 spectators.

The Heat had several standout performances in the match. Zach Van Geel led the team in assists with 41 over four games, matching his season-best performance and showcasing his playmaking abilities. Sam Jablonski contributed significantly in attack, setting a new career-high with 12 kills, maintaining a hitting percentage of .320, and accumulating a team-high 13 points. Jablonski's exceptional performance earned him the title of player of the game for the Heat.

Defensively, Seba Manuel was effective, leading with 10 digs and adding 11.5 points to the team's efforts. Thys Weststrate was a consistent presence at the net, leading the team with four total blocks, which helps him continue to lead the Canada West conference in blocks per set at 1.12, while also adding seven kills. Returning from injury, Aaron Voth made a significant impact on the court, influencing three of the four sets played today.

UBC secured a strong start in the first set against the Heat, opening with a 2-0 lead following a kill by Dawson Pratt. A service error by Pratt shifted momentum briefly, allowing the Heat to tie the score at 3-3, but the Thunderbirds quickly regained control with a series of kills from Reeve Gingera and Jesse Umoren. UBC extended their lead to 15-10 before the Heat called a timeout, following a successful run highlighted by a kill and service ace from Kieran Robinson-Dunning. UBCO would get no closer in the frame as the Thunderbirds took the early advantage.

In the second set, the game began with an early exchange of points, reaching a 3-3 tie after a ball-handling error by the Thunderbirds' Mason Greves. UBCO's Manuel made a notable impact with multiple kills, including a key point at 15-12, contributing to a streak that gave UBCO a 17-12 lead and prompted a timeout from the Thunderbirds. UBC made a brief comeback to close the gap to 21-22, but UBCO secured the set with Ashton South's decisive kill and a block by Van Geel and Weststrate on Gavin Moes, resulting in a 25-22 victory for UBCO.

With the two teams tied at four early in the third set, UBC pulled ahead after a series of effective plays, including a kill by Pratt and a service ace by Gingera, pushing the score to 13-9. Despite a timeout called by the home team, the Thunderbirds maintained momentum, eventually sealing the period with a 25-15 victory.

The final set saw the Thunderbirds establish an early lead with a series of successful plays, including a string of kills by Pratt and Moes, raising their score to 5-2 against UBCO. UBC extended their lead to 8-2 following a service ace, prompting a timeout from the home team. UBCO responded with a series of points, narrowing the gap to 17-14, aided by kills from Mika Feilberg and Sam Jablonski. Despite their efforts, the Thunderbirds maintained control, with Gingera securing the final point at 25-22, sealing the period in favor of the visiting team.

The loss sees the Heat drop back to .500 with a 6-6 record as they are now tied for sixth in the conference with the Manitoba Bisons. As for the Thunderbirds, they improve to 9-3 and maintain their grasp on their place in the conference.

UBCO will be back on home court next weekend for a pivotal showdown against the aforementioned Bisons. The first game of the weekend doubleheader will be held on Friday, January 17 which also happens to be the Heat's annual Pride Night. First serve is set for 5 p.m. and tickets to the game can be purchased at the door on game day. 

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Women's volleyball pushes No. 1 UBC to the limit in thriller on home court

The UBC Okanagan Heat women's volleyball team nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in U SPORTS on Saturday night as they lost a narrow five-set decision to the U SPORTS No. 1-ranked UBC Thunderbirds, with set scores of 25-20, 22-25, 19-25, 25-18, and 15-12.

Notably, the Heat handed the Thunderbirds just their third and fourth set losses of the season after UBC entered the match having won 33 of their 35 sets played so far in 2024-25.

Olivia Boulding was a standout for the Heat, leading the way with 17.5 points thanks to 15 kills with a hitting percentage of .213. Kylan Finseth posted her second-most assists in a Heat uniform with 37 while Amaya Perry was a defensive force, recording 19 digs to go along with 12 kills. Natalie Funk showed efficiency in attack, delivering a career-high 15 kills with a team-high hitting percentage of .333, and accumulating 16 points.

"I'm very proud of how our Heat student-athletes bounced back tonight," commented Heat head coach Steve Manuel after the game. "The rust of the long break with no training or competition really showed on Friday night. But they dug deep and battled tonight, we just came up a bit short in the end. The positive is that we showed we can compete toe-to-toe with the top teams in the country and we will build on that over these next few weeks."

The opening set was a close one throughout as the two teams sat tied at 13-13 tie thanks to consecutive blocks by Olivia Tymkiw and Funk. However, the Thunderbirds gained momentum with a 5-1 run, highlighted by kills from Lucy Borowski and service aces that extended their lead to 21-19. After a timeout by UBCO, UBC sealed the set with two consecutive service aces by Akash Grewal, winning 25-20.

The second set saw a closely contested battle. The Thunderbirds started strong with a 2-0 lead, but the Heat quickly equalized at 2-2 with kills from Natalie Funk. UBC took a timeout at 9-5 following a series of points, but the Heat's Amaya Perry responded with three consecutive kills to narrow the gap to 9-8. In the latter half, UBCO's Olivia Boulding and Perry contributed significantly, helping the home team pull ahead to clinch the set 25-22, with Boulding sealing the win with a service ace.

The third began with a strong start from the Thunderbirds, as Issy Robertshaw delivered two consecutive service aces to give them an early 2-0 lead. UBCO responded with key plays, including a kill by Funk, but still found themselves down 6-3. From there, the Heat mounted a significant comeback, highlighted by Madison Gardner's service ace, leveling the score at 10-10 and prompting a timeout from UBC. UBCO took control late in the set, capitalizing on a series of errors by UBC, and ultimately secured the set with a decisive 25-19 victory.

The fourth set began with the Thunderbirds taking an early lead, scoring the first seven points with consecutive kills from Borowski and Grewal which prompted a timeout by the Heat at a score of 5-0. Funk responded for the Heat with two kills, narrowing the gap slightly to 7-2, but UBC maintained its momentum, extending their advantage to 14-5 after a service ace by Trinity Solecki. UBCO attempted a comeback, with Amaya Perry securing three consecutive kills to bring the score to 21-15, but UBC clinched the set with a final kill by Borowski, finishing the set with a 25-18 victory.

Heading to a tie-breaking fifth set, UBCO scored the first seven points, thanks to a series of attack errors by Thunderbirds players and successful kills by Boulding and Tymkiw. UBC called timeouts at 4-0 and 7-0 in an attempt to halt the momentum. After the second timeout, UBC began to close the gap, as kills from Grewal and Emelie Silovs brought the score to 10-7. The Heat would make it 11-7 but the top-ranked Thunderbirds showed their class, scoring eight of the next nine points to claim the win.

UBCO moves to 4-8 after the five-set thriller while the Thunderbirds hold onto their undefeated record by the slimmest of margins, improving to 12-0.

The Heat will return to action next weekend as they get set to host their annual Pride Night when the Manitoba Bisons (8-4) come to town to begin a weekend doubleheader on Friday, January 17. First serve is set for 7 p.m. and tickets for the game can be purchased at the door on game day.