Men’s Volleyball: Cascades fall to Bearcats in regular-season finale
In the last PACWEST volleyball game to be held at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre, the University of the Fraser Valley men’s squad fell to local rival Columbia Bible College.
Saturday’s regular-season finale had no impact on where the two teams would finish in the standings – UFV (6-18) was locked into the PACWEST’s No. 6 seed, while the Bearcats (2-22) had been eliminated from post-season contention – so Cascades head coach Nathan Bennett leaned heavily on his bench. While UFV’s understudies had bright moments at times, the Bearcats ultimately prevailed 25-21, 25-22 and 25-17.
The Cascades advance to the PACWEST championships, hosted next week by Douglas College, and they’ll face the No. 3-seeded Capilano Blues in the quarter-finals on Thursday at 3 p.m.
“Our placing was already set, and with the short turnaround for provincials – we play Thursday afternoon – we were just giving some guys some rest,” Bennett explained.
“At the end of the day, it’s not charity playing time (for players coming off the bench). They’re part of our team, and I always expect all our players – anyone who gets a chance to play for our program – to put their best foot forward. They know our game plan, they know how to play in our system. I was hoping for a little bit more tonight. I think a bit of our mentality was, we weren’t playing to win – we were playing to survive, it felt like.”
In the first set, the Bearcats pulled away in the middle stages, going up 18-12 after a Noah Bouius service ace. The Cascades scored the next four points to get back into it, highlighted by three straight blocks – two from Dylan Neudorf, one from Graham Walkey – but CBC pulled away as the hosts struggled with attack errors.
CBC’s Stefan Halas served for five straight points early in the second set, staking his team to a 12-5 lead. The Cascades got back to within 16-13 after consecutive kills from Neudorf and Josh Willems, but were unable to complete the comeback, and Halas bookended the set with a kill.
The Cascades stayed close for much of the third set, but the Bearcats finished strong, scoring five of the last six points to close out the match.
Willems’s seven kills were a team-high for the Cascades, and Hunter Klassen and Justin Peleshytyk registered five kills each. Setter Walkey posted 19 assists over the first two sets before shifting to libero in the third.
Bouius led the Bearcats with nine kills, hitting .421, and Nathan Rempel and Jakob Boschmann had five kills apiece.
GAME NOTES: Saturday’s match marked the end of an era, as it was UFV’s final PACWEST volleyball home game. The Cascades volleyball teams are moving up to the Canada West conference for the 2020-21 season.
Womens’ Volleyball: Cascades close out regular season with sweep of Bearcats
The University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team wrapped up the regular season with a flourish, defeating the Columbia Bible College Bearcats in three straight sets on Saturday evening.
On Senior Night for graduating fifth-year players Cassidy King and Chelsea Kidd, the Cascades (11-13) held off a determined Bearcats squad (2-22) by scores of 25-20, 25-20 and 25-16.
UFV advances to the PACWEST conference championships at Douglas College in New Westminster this coming week as the No. 4 seed, and will face the College of the Rockies Avalanche in the quarter-finals on Thursday.
“I think it was evident that we were fighting some emotion with the fifth-years tonight,” Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema said. “But I think they did a really good job of identifying the way they were feeling and still finding ways to score points and come up with solutions.”
In the opening set, the Cascades built a 15-11 lead after a kill and ace from Kristen McBride on back-to-back points. The Bearcats clawed their way back to even terms at 17-17, but McBride reeled off three straight kills to give UFV some breathing room and they finished it off 25-20.
CBC went up 13-10 in the second, but UFV middle Alysha Cooper was in on three straight blocks as UFV surged into the lead. The hosts wrapped up the set on an Amanda Matui kill.
The Cascades dominated the third set – back-to-back aces from Matsui staked them to a 6-1 lead, and they cruised from there.
Cooper paced the Cascades with 13 points, including five kills and four aces, and Kidd racked up a team-high 11 kills. Matsui chipped in with seven kills and 14 digs, and McBride added 10 digs.
Megan Polant (11 kills) and Janae Bruinsma (10 kills) led the way offensively for the Bearcats.
Seniors Kidd and King were honoured in a post-game ceremony, and Rozema lauded their skill and leadership ability.
“Their maturity and their experience have meant a lot to us,” Rozema said. “They have a lot of leadership skills, and they know how to encourage and support their teammates but still play well themselves.
“With Chelsea, when the points matter most, everyone on the bench from players to coaching staff know she’s going to do something positive when the ball comes her way. And Cassidy’s leadership ability is impeccable – she’s gifted at identifying what the team needs, and then working to lead the way in improving.”
