Griffins aim to learn from straight sets defeat to national championship contender UBC
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
16 | 12 | 16 | 0 |
|
|
25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Team Stats
UBC
| Game Statistics | MacEwan University | UBC |
|---|---|---|
| Hitting % | -.065 | .238 |
| Blocks | 2.0 | 9.0 |
| Digs | 37 | 37 |
| Aces | 1 | 13 |
Jefferson Hagen
MacEwan Athletics
VANCOUVER, B.C. – Getting a taste of what it looks like to go against a national championship contender, the MacEwan Griffins competed in spurts, but ultimately lost the serve-receive battle in a 3-0 defeat to the U SPORTS No. 3 UBC Thunderbirds on Friday night.
MacEwan lost 25-16, 25-12, 25-16 to fall to 5-8 on the season. UBC, third in the Canada West standings, is now 10-3.
"You know what, believe it or not, there's nobody down emotionally from our effort," said Griffins head coach Chris Wandler. "The effort, attention and everybody's focus was definitely there. We are approaching this very much from a learning (perspective).
"To UBC's credit, they serve and pass the ball extremely well – better than what we experienced last weekend, for sure. It's just up to us to rise to that level. Now that we've seen what they give and what we can do, it should be – as far the score's concerned – a better outcome for us, come tomorrow."
Kylee Glanville led the T-Birds with 15.0 points on seven kills, six aces, nine digs and four blocks, while Lucy Borowski had 13.5 points and nine kills, and Elizabeth Lee recorded seven kills.
Former Griffins libero Bronwyn Ettinger, who transferred to UBC for her program after leading MacEwan to the 2023-24 playoffs, was very solid and a big reason why UBC's attack was constantly in system.
"Bron played really well," said Wandler. "It was nice to see her playing some good volleyball, even if it wasn't for us."
MacEwan was led by Kara Frith and Alyshia Bryks, who both posted nine kills and 9.0 points apiece, while setter Payton Shimoda had 14 assists and eight digs, doing her best to make up for a struggling passing game.
Kara Frith hits off hands for one of her team-leading four kills for the @MacEwanGriffins in the opening set at @ubctbirds.#GriffNation pic.twitter.com/E6ACYIY4fH
— GriffinsWVB (@GriffinsWVB) January 17, 2026
"Kara was really good tonight," said Wandler. "She kept super assertive, super aggressive.
"I thought Payton played some outstanding defence. We didn't put the ball in her hands enough. Obviously, we didn't pass the ball well enough, so that forced us a little bit out of system and she delivered the ball in hittable opportunities. But it takes an outstanding outside hitter to put a ball away against a championship defence like UBC presented. It put us in a really tough spot not passing the ball well."
UBC outpaced MacEwan 13-1 on serving aces, which was the difference in the match.
"The score doesn't indicate it, but at times we were right in the match," said Wandler. "Playing at a really high level consistently is really tough.
"So, those are the lessons we learned. We have to be disciplined; we have to be consistent. Tomorrow, we should see a better outcome than we did tonight."
The teams will meet again on Saturday (5 p.m. MT, Canada West TV).
"We have to now rise," said Wandler. "We've seen the level of the No. 3 team in the country. That being said, 'what are we going to do about it?'
"The serve and pass game was the difference maker for UBC tonight, and us, obviously."
