VANCOUVER - In an up-and-down grind, the UBC Thunderbirds defeated the Mt. Royal Cougars 3-1 (25-15, 16-25, 28-26, 25-18) at War Memorial Gym. 

Maggie Li had a solid all-around performance with 9 kills, 5 blocks and 4 aces, while Danielle Brisebois lead the attack with 18 kills and 5 blocks. Juliana Kaufmanis earned a team-high 13 digs, Ciara Hanly lead with 7 blocks, and Siobahn Finan added 4 kills and 5 digs in the victory. 

The Cougars were led by Alex Donaghy who recorded 10 kills to go along with 3 service aces and Maddie Quinn, whose defence was remarkable in the losing cause, as she recorded 18 digs.

The Thunderbirds jumped out to a quick lead and Brisebois picked up three straight kills to make it 10-3 'Birds in the first. With the Cougars clawing back, Li and setter Alessandra Gentile combined forces for a huge block into the open court to go up 15-8. Brisebois painted the line for a set point that UBC converted to win 25-15.  

A string of T-Bird errors in the second set gave Mt. Royal a 10-9 lead that they extended to 20-14. Mount Royal's Cassidy Kitchen stood out in the set, on her way to 8 kills and 5 digs for the match. UBC Head Coach Doug Reimer called two timeouts in the frame to refocus his team. 

"I thought Danny blocked well, Alessandra had a good blocking day, Ciara had a good blocking day for sure…and then we would just stop. For periods of time we gave up too many points. I think their libero dug the ball very well, so we had to be way steadier after that."

The Cougars defence shone as they closed out the set 25-16. 

UBC was back in form in the third set, as a Brisebois kill and a Li ace opened an early advantage. Siobahn Finan scored her first kill with authority for a 5-4 lead and added two big blocks in her return to action.

Li set up Gentile for her second kill to widen the lead at 11-7, but Mt. Royal kept pace and fended off four set points in a gritty third set. Finan found a seam on a kill for a fifth set point that Anna Price finished for a narrow 28-26 third set win. 

"I was excited to make a contribution," said Finan. "This semester we haven't had a particularly close set – score-wise, and that's really important going into some big matches. I think it was important for us to face that and succeed in that environment."

The fourth saw the Thunderbirds fire on all cylinders to take a 25-18 set win for the match.

UBC and MRU will renew acquaintances Saturday evening at 5:00 pm PST.