Croft continues strong play as Griffins hang with T-Birds for a couple sets before falling 3-0
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
14 | 20 | 8 | 0 |
|
|
25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Team Stats
UBC
| Game Statistics | MacEwan University | UBC |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | .203 | .573 |
| Blocks | 1.0 | 7.0 |
| Digs | 25 | 24 |
| Aces | 1 | 7 |
MacEwan Athletics and UBC Athletics
VANCOUVER – The UBC Thunderbirds (6-3) maintained their perfect record on home court this season by sweeping the MacEwan Griffins (0-9) in straight sets (25-14, 25-20, 25-8) on Friday evening at War Memorial Gym.
The Griffins were much scrappier than the final score line would suggest, hanging with the 'Birds for much of the first two sets. UBC and MacEwan were tied 10-10 in each of the first two frames and the second was not decided until a late four-point run for the home side.
"The first set it was 10-all. We were siding out well and playing with them and then we got stuck in a rotation and didn't side out until it was 18-11," said Griffins head coach Brad Poplawski. "One rotation killed us there. Second set, it was similar. It was 15-all and then they pulled ahead.
"We played with them in spurts. Obviously, they do some things really well, but we definitely made it hard on themselves and got in our own way a number of times."
The T-Birds picked up their fourth straight victory, and sixth in their last seven matches, behind a balanced effort and another masterclass in setting by Mason Greves. Greves moved into 13th on the all-time Canada West assist list with 36 helpers in just three sets, pushing his career regular season total to 2,728.
Greves spread the love on Friday, setting up Gavin Moes for 13 kills, Reeve Gingera for 12 and Dawson Pratt for nine.
For MacEwan, Mitchell Croft continued his excellent rookie season, racking up a match-high 14 kills on a .407 hitting percentage. He improved his kills/set average 3.73, which is still third-best in the conference, only behind reigning Canada West first team all-stars Isaac Heslinga (4.95) of Alberta and Isaiah Olfert (4.18) of Winnipeg.
"He's playing awesome – 14 kills hitting 40 percent – just awesome," said Poplawski. "Like I've said a few times this year, we need someone else going with him.
"A young guy coming in and carrying all of this for us, I need some of my vets to find a little more consistency.
Daylan Andison chipped in 10 digs, an ace and a block to lead the Griffins in all three categories.
The two teams play again on Saturday in what will be the final match of 2024 for both sides. It's set to be the first half of a double header with the schools' women's teams, starting at 5 p.m. MT (Canada West TV).
