Thunderbirds eliminate Dinos in four-set playoff thriller

VANCOUVER – The theme of Friday night? Drama. All of it.

The Thunderbirds and Dinos put forth an instant classic inside War Memorial Gym, fighting tooth and nail all night in a match that featured three sets decided by just two points, including one where both teams reached 30. In the end, UBC prevailed 3-1 (26-28, 25-23, 25-18, 32-30), taking the second and final win of the Canada West Quarterfinal series.

"You've got to hand it to the Dinos," said Thunderbirds head coach Mike Hawkins. "Their backs were against the wall, and they played like it. They played with a ton of desperation, and played incredibly well…for us, and the journey that we're on, we need to go through games like this. I said to the guys that championship teams win that fourth set – when things aren't going perfectly and you're not absolutely in rhythm, finding ways to gut it out and get the job done.

"You need these reps, these desperation reps. Nothing can really replicate the pressures of the postseason, and knowing that there's a finality to any sort of failures. We need to go through those, and we need to have those character moments for us to persevere…again, kudos to the Dinos for taking a few haymaker swings tonight."

The offences for both teams were firing throughout the night, with the two sides combining for 124 kills. For the T-Birds, Dawson Pratt led the way with a season-high 18 along with 11 digs, while Reeve Gingera landed 17 kills and Alex Borowski 13. Mason Greves tallied a season-best 50 assists along with nine digs and three kills.

Matthew Brown ended up just one short of his season-high for assists with 47 for the Dinos, also finishing with five digs and four blocks. Cole Czepuryk, Erik Godwin and Will Kay had 17, 16 and 15 kills, respectively, with Godwin also grabbing a match-high 14 digs.

Needing to shake off a straight sets loss the previous night to open the series, the Dinos came out strong in the first. A 7-1 run capped by a Luke Nodwell kill gave them the lead at 17-15, and they never trailed in the set after that despite some strong UBC pressure (and a number of ties).

Forced past the 25-point barrier when Gingera staved off a Calgary set point with a kill of his own, the Dinos proceeded to earn three more consecutive set points. Finally, Czepuryk ended things with a solo block, giving his team the advantage.

The second followed a similar pattern, with the score tight until a burst by one team in the middle portion of the frame. This time it was from UBC, as kills from Gingera and Alex Emery helped power a 6-2 run to give their team a multi-point advantage. 

Despite a furious rally from the Dinos late, the 'Birds scored four of the final five points to end the set at 25-23 following an ace from Greves, his team's first of the match.

The third was the only set that didn't feature an edge-of-your-seat ending, as the Thunderbirds took control as the action went on and ended up with a relatively comfortable win at 25-18 to go up 2-1 in set count. Borowski really found his stride in this one with five kills, while Kieran Robinson-Dunning got the final point with a nice block.

The two teams got right back to the dramatics in the fourth, as for the third time in the night they found themselves tied up at 23-23. A Godwin kill teed up set point for the Dinos, who had the chance to push the match to the fifth, but Gingera responded with another kill to fight it off.

That began a string of three straight set points for the Dinos, all of which they failed to convert. Kills from Pratt and Gingera put UBC up 27-26 and gave the 'Birds match point, but they also couldn't finish it off. Nor could they score either of their next two match points.

The Dinos had one final opportunity when they went up 30-29, but an Ethan Czepuryk service error was then followed by a Pratt kill and emphatic block from the duo of Greves and Robinson-Dunning to take the match and series. 

With the win, the Thunderbirds advance to the Canada West Final Four, which will be held inside War Memorial Gym. The 'Birds will have the opportunity to fight for glory – and a spot at the U SPORTS National Championship Tournament – on their home court next weekend.

"There's nowhere else we'd rather be than inside War Memorial Gymnasium," said Hawkins. "We have a lot of confidence obviously playing inside this barn, and having the support of friends, family and everyone here makes a huge difference. It's great for us to train here all week, sleep in our own beds, and playing in a familiar place in what's going to be a pressure-filled weekend.

"We fought for this number one seed, to be able to host this Final Four, and this is what it's all about." 

The best in the west will descend on Vancouver in a week's time, with the Thunderbirds first facing either UBC Okanagan or Manitoba in the semifinals on Friday, March 6.