Fisher, Bobcats gear up for T-Birds

Grant Wilson holds firm that setters don’t truly flourish until the tail end of their Canada West volleyball careers.

Developing the physical skills and mindset to run an effective offence in any situation simply takes time and match experience, which is hard to come by as a backup.

Wilson feels fourth-year Kale Fisher is there now, and ready to take a big step in his second season as a starter. He’ll get a great chance to show it as the Bobcats (3-1) host the league-leading UBC Thunderbirds (5-1) at the Healthy Living Centre today at 7:45 p.m., following the women’s match at 6 o’clock.

“He’s really starting to be on the same page with us in terms of how we want to run the offence,” Wilson said. “He and I have had some really good planning meetings where we’re discussing different offensive options based on our team, based on our opponents and he’s really buying into what we’re trying to do.

“That’s made him more effective. He’s made our team more effective and he’s putting our hitters in good situations.”

Fisher is excited to have another crack at UBC, which ended Brandon’s conference playoff run in the 2025 quarterfinals, but didn’t qualify for the national championship the Bobcats won on home court.

The Thunderbirds came out firing on opening weekend last season, blasting the Bobcats 3-0 twice in a row in Fisher’s first weekend as the full-time starter.

“It’s always fun to play those guys. They’re a great team and looking where our team’s at right now, we’re in a good spot,” the Edmonton product said, adding he agrees with Wilson about his development.

“Especially in the setter position, experience is very important; just learning the game through being able to play is a big thing.

“Getting that opportunity to play and gain experience that way is huge.”

This matchup hasn’t been kind to Brandon. It has gone 1-9 against UBC in the five seasons since sweeping a home-court weekend early in the 2018-19 season, en route to a 22-2 record, Canada West championship and U Sports silver medal.

Oddly, Bobcats and Thunderbirds have met in Vancouver each of the past three seasons, with BU’s last win coming at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

Brandon needed a sweep to secure home-court advantage for the quarterfinals, but lost 3-2 on the second night. The Bobcats had to travel to Trinity Western and fell 2-0 to end their season.

“It’s been a long time since they’ve been in our barn, so looking forward to playing in front of our fans and in a comfortable environment,” Wilson said.

“We know whether we play them here or there, they’re always going to be one of the top teams in the country, so we’ve got our hands full.”

The Bobcats are a shade behind the T-Birds in hitting percentage this season, with a mark of .265 to UBC’s .275, though they had the advantage of beating up on the lowly MacEwan Griffins two weeks ago.

Fisher’s sitting fourth in Canada West with 8.53 assists per set.

He finished fifth in the league with 9.07 last year, while feeding Matthew Siebenga for 91 kills and Riley Brunet for 67. BU averaged just over two kills per set out of the middle, but wants that number to go up.

Through four matches this year, Siebenga has 18 kills on 24 attempts with just two errors.

“We always pride ourselves on our middles at BU, having good middles, establishing middles,” Fisher said.

“We have a certain offence we pride ourselves on at BU, and it’s definitely something I wasn’t accustomed to when I first showed up here. Getting used to that, getting those practice reps was huge.”

Feeding middles requires good passing, which will come at a premium tonight and on Saturday, because UBC’s service pressure is elite. The T-Birds have a league-high 41 aces this season, with 1.95 per set.

“They’ve got some guys that can really bomb and that’s something we’ve talked a lot about. Knowing we’re not always going to be in system and how we find ways to make that work is definitely something on my mind,” Fisher said, adding he trusts his passers, Mason Lange, Ethan Baraniuk and libero Cooper Bevan to handle the challenge.

“They’ve been amazing; all three of the guys passing have been great so far this year. Especially, I want to shout out Cooper. He’s been amazing this year, passing really well, really controlling that reception line very well.”

Saturday’s match starts at 6:45 p.m., following the 5 o’clock women’s contest.

The BU women (0-4) are facing a UBC (4-2) squad coming off an 0-2 weekend against Thompson Rivers University.

» tfriesen@brandonsun.com