T-BIRDS SPIKE SPARTANS
UBC is national volleyball champion
Kerry MacDonald actually enjoyed being scrutinized a little extra going through airport security this time.
“They wanted to know about all the metal in the bottom of my bag,” the UBC Thunderbirds men’s volleyball coach said about his trip home from the U Sports nationals with his team Monday morning via Pearson International Airport in Toronto.
“They ended up pulling out all the extra medals. I explained to them that when you win a championship, you get to bring some things home with you.”
MacDonald and his charges have something they’ll gladly declare: They’re Canadian champions for the first time since 1983. UBC defeated the two-time defending national champion Trinity Western Spartans 3-0 (25-22, 25-18, 27-25) in the national final on Sunday at McMaster University in Hamilton.
Trinity Western was looking for its fifth title in eight seasons and to become the first team to claim the crown in three straight years since Winnipeg won four in a row from 1971 to 1974.
As luck would have it, they were on the same flight home as the TBirds on Monday.
“We just rolled up to the gate and they were here. We certainly weren’t expecting it. It’s a little awkward,” MacDonald said.
MacDonald did have plenty of things to distract himself with. He said he had “never received that many text messages and emails in a 12-hour span. … I haven’t gotten back to most of them.”
“We’re lucky. We have great alumni and they really connected with our team,” added MacDonald, who took the helm of the T-Birds in June 2016, replacing Richard Schick after his 12 seasons running the program.
“Winning means a lot. The 35year drought weighed on a lot of people’s minds. UBC has had some phenomenal teams, but we hadn’t been able to get a championship again until now.”
The drought meant enough to MacDonald that when it came time to decide on a combination for the lock on the volleyball team’s room at UBC, he opted for 1-9-8-3.
“We’ll be changing that now, obviously,” he said.
Trinity Western, behind national player of the year Adam Schriemer, was the top seed at nationals. The Spartans finished the season 423. They also dropped a regularseason matchup on the road with the Brandon Bobcats in November and a regular-season encounter at home to UBC in February, falling 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-19). They won at UBC the next night, taking it 3-2 (16-25, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21, 15-13).
The loss on Sunday snapped a 21-match playoff winning streak. Trinity Western won three straight Canada West crowns, as well as the two U Sports championships, over that time.
Trinity Western had not been swept in 50 matches. The last time was Jan. 7, 2017, versus the visiting Saskatchewan Huskies.
UBC was the No. 3 seed at McMaster. The T-Birds lost to the Alberta Golden Bears in the Canada West semifinals, then defeated the Winnipeg Wesmen for the league’s third and final spot at the nationals.
The T-Birds beat Alberta 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 25-20) in the national semifinals on Saturday.
“Ben (Josephson) has put together a great program at Trinity Western,” MacDonald said of the Spartans’ head coach. “We’re happy that we got to play them for a championship.
“They’re going to be as good next year, if not better. They ’re going to sustain. They always do. They’ve set the bar for other programs in this country.
“We sold out their gym this year. They sold out our gym. It’s great for volleyball, and this will only help that.”
Schriemer, a setter, was one of two fifth-year players on the Trinity Western roster. UBC lists five fifth-year players, including tournament all-star Irvan Brar.
UBC setter Byron Keturakis was picked as the tournament’s most valuable player.
“It still hasn’t set in quite yet,” Brar said Monday morning from the airport. “I think with the buzz in the air around school and people getting excited there, it will probably sink in when we get home.”