The perfect season - mission accomplished for the UBC Thunderbirds.
The women's volleyball team won their third straight national championship last Sunday night at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, officially cementing their place in the CIS record books.
The T-birds, led by third-year player Kyla Richey from Roberts Creek, toppled the Manitoba Bisons 3-1 (25-17, 19-25, 25-16, 25-22) to finish the year with a perfect 25-0 record. What's even more impressive is that Sunday's victory was the 40th consecutive win in combined league and playoff play dating back to January 2009, making UBC one of the most dominant teams in Canadian history. The year's championship was the seventh overall title for the women's volleyball program, which ties them for the most ever with Alberta and Winnipeg.
UBC started play with a 3-0 win (25-17, 25-17, 25-13) over the St. Mary's Huskies on Friday, setting up a semifinal match with Laval on Saturday that UBC won 3-0 (25-19, 25-22, 25-17). Richey was UBC's player of the match against Laval with seven kills, 11 digs and a pair of blocks. She also had 14 kills in the championship win.
"We're thrilled with the three-peat and the perfect season, although the focus was not on that really, the perfect season, but getting the job done," said head coach Doug Reimer. "Kyla was a huge part of that. She stepped up many times, and I thought she was very good for us during the tournament. In particular, she had a strong semifinal match against Laval. Her improvements in defence and back row play were evident, and all year she was very solid as a right side blocker for us."
Richey said all the hard work the team put in certainly paid off.
"It's very exciting. You can't put it into words. It almost seems surreal," she said. "We took it step by step, approaching each point of every game the same way. Regardless of who we played, Doug emphasized to us to play our game and play on our side of the court. It was a long process, but it paid off."
Richey said the team is tight both on and off the court, which played a huge factor in their success.
"The chemistry is unimaginable on and off the court - we're just so close," she said. "We want to play with each other, we know how to push each other and support each other. We just want to win and we work hard to achieve those goals."
Richey plans a few weeks off from volleyball, and then it will be back in the gym training, as she, Claire Hanna and Jen Hinze are all trying out again for the national team. After that, she'll begin preparation for the start of the new season at UBC.
"I can't believe I'll be going into my fourth year with the team. The time has just flown by," Richey said. "There will certainly be a different feel next year with losing a few seniors, but I'm ready to take on a bigger role, a leadership role and excited to try to keep this going."
