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UFV Sports Friday – Tough To Get Back After Xmas Break

Men’s Volleyball: ( by Jordie Arthur, Cascades communications assistant) Cascades fall in straight sets to No. 2-ranked Royals

The University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team fell in three sets to the Douglas Royals on Friday night at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.

The CCAA No. 2-ranked Royals wrapped up the match with set victories of 25-20, 25-22, and 25-15 to improve to 10-2 on the season, while the Cascades saw their record fall to 5-9.

The two teams wrap up the home-and-home series on Saturday at Douglas’s New Westminster campus (3 p.m., pacwestbc.tv).

“Douglas is a lot sharper that this point of the season,” Cascades head coach Nathan Bennett said. “Their trip to California (over the December break) has them going into the new year firing on all cylinders. We weren’t fast enough . . . and it was hard to get into game rhythm tonight.

“The positive we have after tonight is that we get another chance at them tomorrow.”

The Royals started hot, building an 8-3 lead in the first set on strong service play by Matt Shand and Ben Shand who racked up two early aces apiece. The visitors went on to increase their lead to 15-7, and despite the Cascades battling back to cut the deficit to 21-17, Douglas held on for the 25-20 set win.

The Cascades came out firing in the second, gaining a 7-2 lead bolstered by Landon Uy picking up two kills while Justin Peleshytyk and Jackson Obst each registered an ace. The Royals would get rolling, however, leveling the score at 10 apiece following a three-point service run by Greg Moore. The teams traded points to 18-18, but another three-point service run by Moore would give Douglas a 21-18 advantage and they would finish it off 25-22.

The third set was all Royals – they established a 14-8 lead and would not be slowed, closing out the match with a 25-15 set victory.

Uy led the Cascades with nine kills, six digs and two aces, and Graham Walkey posted 16 set assists.

Max Haronga paced the Royals with a game-high 12 kills, while Matt Shand had 10 of his own. Matt Shand, Ben Shand and Moore all finished with three service aces in the match.

Women’s Volleyball: Cascades shake slow start, topple Royals in four sets

The University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team opened up its 2020 campaign with a four-set victory over the Douglas Royals on Friday night at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.

In a clash of nationally ranked teams, the No. 10 Cascades took the match by scores of 19-25, 25-23, 25-20, and 25-21, improving to 8-6 in PACWEST play while dropping the No. 13 Royals to 5-7.

The two teams wrap up the home-and-home series on Saturday at Douglas’s New Westminster campus (1 p.m., pacwestbc.tv).

“It was just about normalizing on the court – being together again, first game back,” UFV head coach Janelle Rozema said, reflecting on her team’s first-set hiccups and subsequent response. “In the first set we were making a lot of unforced errors, and as we got more comfortable on the court, we lessened those.”

The Cascades had a promising start, building a 4-1 lead in the first following consecutive kills and a block by Kristen McBride. However, the Royals rallied to take a 14-8 advantage on the back of a massive eight-point service run by Emma Schill who racked up four aces, including three on consecutive points. The visitors would sustain this lead through the rest of the set for the 25-19 victory. 

Douglas snagged a 15-9 lead in the second, aided by a four-point service run from Jane Kepler. The Cascades slowly chipped away at the advantage, before evening the score at 19 apiece. Amanda Matsui took over for the Cascades in the final portion of the set, securing three kills in quick succession before closing it out 25-23 with back-to-back aces.

UFV built on its momentum early in the third, taking a 7-2 lead with Chelsea Kidd chipping in two timely kills. With the score 15-10, a pair of kills by Jacey Neid drew the Royals back to within 15-14, but that was as close as they would come as the Cascades finished out the set 25-20.

The teams traded points in the fourth, finding themselves tied at 12, 14, and 16, but Alysha Cooper would secure three kills in four points to give UFV a 19-16 advantage. The hosts would not relinquish that lead, closing out the match 25-21 on a Sedona Arabsky kill.

McBride secured a game-high 15 kills for the Cascades, while Matsui and Cooper knocked down 11 and 10 respectively. Matsui sparked the defence with 17 digs, and Kidd added nine.

Schill and Neid paced the Royals with 11 kills apiece.

The Cascades had a solid night at the service line, notching 10 aces, including several in clutch spots. It was a welcome turn of events from Rozema’s perspective, as her team had its struggles at the service line in the fall semester.

“We’ve grasped the importance of it in the past, and it’s kind of given us some mental cramps,” she said. “But I think we’ve had growth on the other side of that. We’re really aware of how our serving game can affect the outcome.”

Men’s Basketball: T-Birds tighten up defence in second half, pull away from Cascades

Abbotsford – The UBC Thunderbirds turned in a stingy defensive performance after halftime, powering an 80-63 victory over the University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team on Friday evening.

The T-Birds limited the Cascades to 22 points in the second half and 32.9 per cent shooting from the field for the game, boosting their record to 9-2 in Canada West play while dropping the Cascades to 3-6.

Friday’s result drew UBC head coach Kevin Hanson even with former Alberta Golden Bears bench boss Don Horwood for the most regular-season wins in Canada West men’s basketball history at 313. He has a chance to take sole possession of the record on Saturday as the T-Birds and Cascades wrap up the weekend series at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre (7 p.m., CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op).

UBC sent aggressive double-teams at UFV stars Parm Bains and Sukhjot Bains throughout the game, but the Cascades’ supporting cast was unable to take full advantage of the extra space afforded to them.

“I just think we need to be a little more consistent, keep our composure, and understand that if we do the things we are capable of doing, the opportunity for success is going to be there,” UFV head coach Adam Friesen said.

The Cascades had a solid start, leading 12-10 after Sukhjot Bains’s three-pointer, but the T-Birds responded with a 15-3 run – highlighted by five points from Jadon Cohee – to seize control. The hosts hung tough in the second quarter, and were within 49-41 at the break.

UBC locked it down on defence in the third, holding UFV to 12 points in the frame. They put together a 12-2 run over the last three minutes to take a 70-53 lead into the fourth, and they kept the Cascades at bay from there.

The T-Birds also had a subpar shooting night from the field (36.1 per cent) but did most of their damage at the foul line. They amassed a 31-8 edge in free throw attempts, hitting 26 (83.9 per cent).

Kenan Hadzovic paced the Cascades with 11 points, Sukhjot Bains scored 10, and Parm Bains had nine points on a trio of three-pointers.

Manroop Clair’s 18 points were a game high for UBC, and Grant Shepherd (15 points), Cohee (14), Zack Moore (12) and Taylor Browne (10) also scored in double figures.

Women’s Basketball: T-Birds hang on for 76-74 win over Cascades

Two clean looks from beyond the arc in the dying seconds drew iron for the UFV Cascades, allowing the UBC Thunderbirds to escape with a 76-74 victory in Canada West women’s basketball action on Friday evening.

In an entertaining back-and-forth battle between local rivals, the T-Birds improved to 8-3 behind 19 points from senior point guard Jessica Hanson. The Cascades (5-4) received a game-high 19 points apiece from forwards Taylor Claggett and Deanna Tuchscherer.

The two teams renew hostilities on Saturday at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre (5 p.m., CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op).

“It’s really a missed opportunity more than anything,” Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer said afterward. “We’re going to have to get to a point where we stop talking about the youth of our team. We’re just another CW basketball team that’s trying to win games. Whoever we have on the floor, we have high expectations of what’s going to happen. I’m sure it was an entertaining game, but in the end, ultimately a disappointing game.

“I just think we made way too many errors at the defensive end of the floor tonight where we gave up open looks or layups. When you’re trying to beat a good team, you’re not going to be able to allow stuff like that.”

The Cascades built a 24-19 lead at the end of the first quarter thanks to some hot shooting from Deanna Tuchscherer, who scored nine points in the frame. The T-Birds tightened things up defensively in the second – they limited UFV to four points over the first five minutes, rallying to take a 41-39 lead into halftime.

The Cascades surged in the third, going up 57-53 after a Taylor Claggett bucket in the paint, but the T-Birds would once again close the gap, and they reclaimed the lead in the fourth quarter as five straight Keylyn Filewich points gave them a 71-67 edge.

UFV hung tough, and a clutch three-pointer from Maddy Gobeil off an inbounds play with 32 seconds remaining cut the deficit to 76-74. An over-the-back foul on UBC’s Madison Legault on the ensuing possession gave the Cascades the ball back with just under 20 seconds left. After Gobeil’s attempt from beyond the arc came up short, Claggett tracked down the rebound and fed Nikki Cabuco, but her triple also drew iron at the buzzer.

The Cascades went with four rookies – Tuchscherer, Gobeil, Cabuco and Jessica Parker – alongside senior Claggett in the last three minutes of regulation. Cabuco stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six rebounds, four assists and four steals, and Gobeil also scored eight points.

Hailey Counsell (14 points), Maddison Penn (12), Filewich (10) and Gabrielle Laguerta (10) joined Hanson in double-digit scoring for the T-Birds.

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