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UFV Sports Saturday – Women’s Soccer Wrap Up The Regular Season -Makes Playoffs, Hoops, Volleyball

Women’s Soccer: Zacharuk, Lampen lead Cascades to 4-2 win over Heat in regular-season finale

Brittney Zacharuk celebrated her final home game with the University of the Fraser Valley women’s soccer team by carving out yet another slice of program history in a 4-2 win over the UBC Okanagan Heat.

The fifth-year winger’s goal in the 28th minute was her seventh of the season and 23rd of her career, giving her a share of the Cascades’ all-time goal-scoring record, tied with Monika Levarsky (2014-2016). Earlier this fall, Zacharuk had claimed sole possession of UFV’s marks for career assists and points, wrapping up her regular-season career with 19 and 42, respectively.

Zacharuk – who was honoured in a pregame Senior Night ceremony – exited the game in the 30th minute, greeted on the sideline by warm embraces from Cascades head coach Rob Giesbrecht and, in a classy gesture, UBCO bench boss Craig Smith.

“That’s pretty cool,” Giesbrecht said, reflecting on Zacharuk’s latest team record. “It shows her consistency and her productivity. I’m really happy – she only played 30 minutes, obviously with two yellow cards we wanted to be safe (and avoid a suspension for three yellows) for the playoffs next weekend. We rested a few other girls as well, and we were able to play a lot of girls who haven’t played a lot this year, and that’s good for us too.”

Katie Lampen also had a big night for the Cascades, scoring twice to finish with seven goals, tops among rookies in the Canada West conference and tied with Zacharuk for the team lead.

The Cascades (4-5-5) are playoff bound as the fifth seed out of the Pacific Division, and for the third year in a row, they’ll be in a quadrant hosted by the Trinity Western Spartans. They’ll play the fourth seed from the Prairie Division in the first round – either the Alberta Pandas or the Manitoba Bisons, depending on how Sunday’s game between Alberta and the Saskatchewan Huskies shakes out. The first-round winner moves on to face the host Spartans in the quarter-finals.

The Heat, meanwhile, see their campaign come to an end with a 1-12-1 record, eighth in the Pacific Division. They had some notable player milestones on Saturday, as Erica Reis and Jillian Hunt both scored their first goals in Canada West play.

Hunt’s goal in the third minute had staked the visitors to an early lead, but the Cascades took over at that point, with Lampen’s brace plus Zacharuk’s single giving UFV a 3-1 lead at the break.

The Cascades went up 4-1 in the 52nd minute when an errant UBCO pass sliced into the net for an own goal, and Reis rounded out the scoring in the 82nd.

With both of the Heat’s regular goalkeepers out due to injury, rookie midfielder Catriona McFadden was pressed into action between the pipes. She finished with four saves. Andrea Perkovic and Kareena Sahota – making her CW debut – shared the GK duties for the Cascades.

Men’s Volleyball: Mariners wrap up weekend sweep of Cascades

The University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team showed some fight on Saturday afternoon, pushing the Vancouver Island University Mariners in the first and third sets, but the Mariners kept them at bay to complete a weekend sweep.

The Cascades built a 24-22 lead in the first set and had three set points, but the Mariners fended off all three and surged ahead to take it 28-26. That knocked the wind out of the UFV squad – they dropped the second set 25-16, and while they mounted a push in the third, VIU closed out the match by a 25-22 count.

“I thought we definitely had more fight in the first set, but we have to learn to finish games, for sure,” Cascades head coach Nathan Bennett said afterward. “We have to take those opportunities.

“I think we allowed the end result in the first set to really hinder our performance in the second set – we didn’t come out with any positive emotion. And then in the third, we did well – we were in the fight, which is what I ask them for.”

The Cascades were paced offensively by right side Landon Uy (nine kills) and left side Caleb Kastelein (eight kills). Uy and setter Graham Walkey tied for team-high honours with five digs apiece.

Braydon Brouwer did much of the damage for the Mariners, posting a game-high 13 kills, and Dario De Queiroz-Pereira added seven kills.

The Cascades volleyball teams are back in action next weekend as they host the College of the Rockies Avalanche in a Friday-Saturday set at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.

Women’s Volleyball: Mariners fend off Cascades in five-set thriller

The University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team pushed the Vancouver Island University Mariners to the limit on Saturday afternoon in Nanaimo, ultimately succumbing in five sets to the two-time reigning CCAA national champs.

The Cascades (2-2) had fallen in three sets to the Mariners (4-0) on Friday but turned in a much-improved performance in the rematch. The visitors won the first set 25-22, and after VIU took the next two by 25-16 and 25-20 scores, the Cascades extended the match by clawing out a 26-24 win in the fourth. The Mariners cruised in the fifth, though, building leads of 3-0 and 11-5 before closing it out 15-9.

“It was better, for sure,” Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema acknowledged afterward. “We put ourselves in position to win – and then unfortunately we just made too many mistakes in the fifth set, and you can’t do that. Overall, I think we did a good job of executing our game plan against their attackers, and handling their serve better.”

The Cascades were sparked by the play of their middles – Sedona Arabsky racked up nine kills on 12 error-free swings for a scorching .750 hitting percentage, and Alysha Cooper and Lauren Poirier chipped in with five and three kills, respectively. Outside hitters Chelsea Kidd and Amanda Matsui each posted 10 kills, and Kristen McBride had eight.

Setter Kara Williams had 38 assists to go with seven digs, while Matsui (13 digs) and Kidd (10) finished with double-digit digs. Arabsky led the Cascades’ effort from the service line with four aces.

Danielle Groenendijk (18 kills) and Jane Nyukhalova (17 kills) paced the Mariners offensively.

“We can build on this,” Rozema said, noting that while the Cascades upgraded their passing performance on Saturday, they still have room to grow at the service line. “We’re showing levels of improvement. It’s really hard to go from losing in three sets to beating a team. I don’t feel we’ve played our best yet, but we still went to five with probably the top team in the country. There are still things we can be better at, which sets us up for beating them at the right point of the season.”

The Cascades volleyball teams are back in action at home next weekend, hosting the College of the Rockies Avalanche in a Saturday-Sunday set.

Men’s Basketball: Cascades split a pair of exhibition games in Kamloops

The University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team revved up its preseason schedule by splitting a pair of weekend games at a tournament hosted by the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.

The Cascades were shorthanded heading in, with Sukhjot Bains – the team’s second-leading scorer last season – and key frontcourt players Daniel Adediran and Dhivaan Bhogal sidelined due to injury. Yet they opened with an 80-76 victory over the UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday evening, before wrapping up the event with a 93-75 defeat at the hands of the host WolfPack on Saturday.

CASCADES 80, HEAT 76

The Cascades had a scorching-hot first half, doubling up on the Heat 46-23 at the break. But the UFV squad – already thin up front – saw big men Matt Cooley and Sukhraj Bains run into foul trouble in the third quarter, opening the door for a UBCO rally. The Heat outscored the Cascades 23-15 in the fourth quarter, but UFV held them off down the stretch.

Point guard Parm Bains, a second team Canada West all-star last season, poured in 27 points to pace the Cascades. Kenan Hadzovic counted a trio of three-pointers among his 15 points, Vick Toor scored 12, and Sukhraj Bains had 10 points and was +17 in 17 minutes off the bench. Cooley contributed a team-high eight rebounds to go with six points.

UBCO’s Hafith Moallin went 5-for-7 from downtown on his way to 21 points, and Owen Keyes chipped in with 16 points.

WOLFPACK 93, CASCADES 75

The Cascades’ infirmary grew more crowded on Saturday, as Jaskarn Bajwa was unable to suit up due to an ankle injury. With just eight players available, the shorthanded Cascades fell victim to a second-quarter run by TRU that allowed them to claim a 55-40 lead at halftime, and they kept UFV at bay from there.

Parm Bains continued to flash midseason form, going for another 22 points highlighted by four three-pointers. Sukhraj Bains notched 15 points to go with nine rebounds off the bench, Cooley added 10 points, and Vlad Mihaila scored eight.

Tyus De Vries racked up a game-high 25 points for the WolfPack, and veteran forward Joe Davis had 22 points and seven boards.

“Great learning experience playing against a good team like TRU,” Cascades head coach Adam Friesen said afterward. “We did some things, and also got a great idea of what we need to improve upon in the next two weeks leading up to league play.”

UP NEXT: The Cascades hop on a ferry next weekend to face the UVic Vikes in a Friday-Saturday exhibition set. The Canada West regular season opens the following week, with UFV visiting the Winnipeg Wesmen. Home-opening weekend for the Cascades is Nov. 15-16 vs. UBC Okanagan.

Women’s Basketball: Cascades showcase their depth in dominant preseason win over TRU

The University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball team wrapped up a weekend exhibition sweep of the Thompson Rivers WolfPack on Saturday afternoon, and the performance stood in stark contrast to Friday’s opener.

On Friday, the Cascades had trailed by double digits throughout the first half at the Envision Financial before rallying for a 55-53 win on Victoria Jacobse’s and-one layup in the dying seconds. Saturday’s performance was much stronger for the hosts – they were dominant throughout, and prevailed 85-46.

“It was night and day compared to yesterday,” Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer noted afterward. “The girls really embraced what we’re trying to do defensively and built our game from there.

“I thought particularly, our kids coming off the bench tonight played fantastic and that really ignited our starters, too, when they went back into the game. Last night I was really just disappointed we didn’t get more players into the game, and today we did a way better job of that. We had some really good contributions up and down the bench.”

After building a 22-19 lead at the end of the first quarter, the Cascades broke the game open in the second, out-scoring the WolfPack 25-5. Deanna Tuchscherer scored eight points in the frame, and Taylor Claggett and Natalie Rathler chipped in with four points apiece. The hosts continued to extend the lead with a dominant 26-10 third quarter, and cruised from there.

Deanna Tuchscherer registered a game-high 18 points, and Claggett scored 16. The Cascades also got great play off the bench from the likes of Jessica Parker (14 points), Nikki Cabuco (11 points) and Rather, who finished with five points and energized the squad with her physical play in the paint.

“They’re really starting to show the energy they can bring to the game, and what game-breakers they can be for us,” Tuchscherer said of his young players off the bench. “It was really encouraging to see.”

Emma Piggin (eight points) and Leilani Carney (seven) were the top scorers for the WolfPack.

UP NEXT: The Cascades women’s hoopsters are off to Calgary for preseason games next weekend, facing the host Calgary Dinos on Friday and the MacEwan Griffins on Saturday. They begin Canada West regular-season play the following week, facing the Winnipeg Wesmen on the road. Home-opening weekend is Nov. 15-16 vs. UBC Okanagan.

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