A perfect season - now can they script the perfect ending?
That's what Roberts Creek's Kyla Richey and the rest of the University of British Columbia (UBC) women's volleyball team will look to write this weekend when they head to the University of Alberta in Edmonton for the Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) national championship.
The T-Birds, ranked number one and riding a 22-match winning streak, are in search of their third-straight national championship.
After completing the regular season 20-0, UBC picked up two wins last weekend at the University of Manitoba, capturing their second straight Canada West title.
UBC knocked off Regina Cougars Friday night 3-1 by set scores of 25-16, 15-25, 25-19 and 25-13. Richey led the T-Birds with 16 kills and an impressive .394 hitting percentage.
UBC had a much stronger test, possibly their toughest test of the season, in the Canada West final on Saturday, when Manitoba pushed them to the limit.
After winning the first two sets by identical 25-17 set scores, UBC looked well on their way to another conference crown, but the Bisons, bolstered by their noisy home court crowd, battled back, winning the next two sets 25-23 and 25-20. UBC closed things out in the final set, leading from start to finish en route to a 15-8 decision.
Richey said she feels the tough match against Manitoba gave them added confidence heading into this weekend.
"We talked at the beginning of the year and we all knew the target on our backs was going to be big," Richey said. "Winning two national championships means everyone will be gunning for you. It's been like that all season. You don't just learn by losing, you learn by playing well together and overcoming adversity. Manitoba pushed us hard, and we pushed back. I think that's a great thing for us."
UBC begins the national tournament today (Friday) with a quarter-final match against the Saint Mary's Huskies, champions of the Atlantic conference and the number eight seed in the tournament. The other quarter-final matches include Regina against Laval, Manitoba against Toronto and Montreal against Alberta.
The consolation and semi-finals take place Saturday with the bronze medal and championship final games on Sunday.
"We're very confident and we're prepared for this," Richey added. "With the Olympics here, everyone has been pretty inspired. Now that it's over, we all have the gold medal fever, and we want to finish strong and win another title."
