VANCOUVER – Just 24 hours after a straight sets loss to the Manitoba Bisons in the Canada West Semifinals, the UBC Thunderbirds came back out on the court at War Memorial Gym and delivered a win in straight sets over the Alberta Golden Bears (25-22, 25-19, 25-17).
 
With the victory, the T-Birds won Canada West bronze for the second time in the last three seasons, and secured their place at next week's U SPORTS Men's Volleyball Championship.
 
Reeve Gingera was electric for UBC, as he recorded a season-high 18 kills with just a single attack error, good for a stunning .630 hitting percentage. Alex Borowski provided eight kills and five digs in support, while Mason Greves recorded 33 assists, five digs and two kills.
 
Dylan Martens led the way for Alberta offensively with 12 kills, earning the Mikasa Player of the Game award alongside Gingera. Jacob Sargent put up eight kills and four digs while middle blockers Trent Cherewaty and Owen Harris combined for 13 kills.
 
It was nearly impossible to separate the two teams in the opening set, with neither leading by more than two points until the closing stages. Down 20-19 following a Martens kill, the Thunderbirds proceeded to rally by scoring four straight points, capped by a block from Kieran Robinson-Dunning and Dawson Pratt.
 
A couple more late errors from the Golden Bears ended the set just a few plays later, with the T-Birds escaping with the crucial early lead.
 
It looked like Alberta would hit right back in the second, as following a series of UBC errors they found themselves up 12-5. But coming out of a timeout, all of a sudden, a switch seemed to flip inside the Thunderbirds. Less than a dozen points later they'd taken the lead, and didn't let up the rest of the set as they outscored Alberta 20-7 from that timeout onwards.
 
By the time Borowski ended the second with a kill, momentum was squarely on the T-Birds' side of the court, and that continued in the third. While the Golden Bears battled hard – with Sargent especially coming alive as he landed five kills in the frame – UBC was in a groove as they tallied 13 kills without a single attack error as a team in the third.
 
After Gingera set up match point with his fifth kill of the final set, a Nicholas Johnson serve was mishandled and sent back over to the UBC side of the net, where Alex Emery was only too happy to oblige with a final kill to complete the win.
 
The 2026 U SPORTS Men's Volleyball Championship will be held from March 13 to 15, hosted by the University of Windsor.