Abbotsford ( Dan Kinvig, UFV Athletics ) Men’s Basketball: Dinos dial up the defence in win over Cascades – The reigning U SPORTS national champion Calgary Dinos lived up to their advance billing, handing the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades a 85-51 defeat on Friday evening at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
The undefeated Dinos (17-0) put on an outstanding performance at the defensive end en route to victory, limiting the Cascades (11-6) to 29.8 per cent shooting from the field.
The two teams clash again on Saturday at the EFAC (7 p.m., CanadaWest.tv).
“They’re a well-oiled machine, and they make life challenging on everybody,” Cascades head coach Adam Friesen said of the Dinos. “We had some looks early, and when they didn’t go down, I think our energy and confidence took a hit.
“I think now that we’ve seen them, hopefully we can get a little used to their quickness and their length, and have a better understanding of what it’s going to take to consistently get good shots off.”
Playing in front of a near-capacity crowd on the Cascades’ third annual Hall of Fame night, the Dinos built a 16-9 lead at the end of a defensive-minded first quarter.
The visitors heated up from distance early in the second quarter to seize control – David Kapinga, Lucas Mannes and Lars Schleuter connected from beyond the arc in quick succession as Calgary expanded its lead to 25-9.
Midway through the third quarter, another Schleuter triple extended the lead beyond 20 points (46-24), draining much of the suspense from the proceedings with the Dinos’ defence operating at peak efficiency at the other end of the floor.
“I thought we did a good job of our game plan (defensively), and sticking with what we talked about with each of their guys,” said Dinos head coach Dan Vanhooren. “They’re going to hit some shots, and they have some talent – they have a very good team. So we concentrated for 40 minutes, and I was proud of that. Hopefully we can do that again.”
Dinos centre Brett Layton led his squad with 18 points and 12 rebounds, and Andrew Milner scored 14 points off the bench. Kapinga and Mambi Diawara also hit double digits with 10 points apiece.
Sukhjot Bains led the Cascades with 18 points to go with six rebounds and four assists. Sukhman Sandhu counted four three-pointers among his 14 points off the bench, and Mark Johnson hauled down 12 rebounds.
BOUNCE PASSES: The UFV athletic department honoured its third annual Cascades Hall of Fame class in a halftime ceremony. Athletes Derek Fletcher (men’s volleyball) and Andrea Wigman (women’s soccer), builder Skip Bassford, and the 1999-2000 men’s basketball team comprised the Class of 2019.
Women’s Basketball: Dinos weather Cascades’ strong start, pull away to win
The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades got off to a scorching start, but the Calgary Dinos weathered the storm and rallied for an 81-56 victory in Canada West women’s basketball action on Friday evening at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
The Cascades led 22-15 at the end of the first quarter, but the U SPORTS No. 7-ranked Dinos clawed their way back to lead 35-29 at the break, and took advantage of UFV foul trouble in the fourth quarter to stretch out the final margin.
The Cascades (10-7) and Dinos (14-3) clash again on Saturday (5 p.m., CanadaWest.tv) at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
“I thought Calgary’s pressure really wore us down tonight,” Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer said. “We lost our focus on what we were trying to do. When you’re frustrated by how physical the other team is playing, you’re not thinking about the right things. You’re not thinking about what your job is, which leads to a lot of team breakdowns.
“We’re going to have to play tougher (on Saturday), and that doesn’t mean fouling harder. That means blocking people out, communicating, and defending.”
The host Cascades led by as many as nine in the first quarter, with Taylor Claggett (six points) and Amanda Thompson (five points) leading the way offensively.
But the Dinos dominated the second, outscoring UFV 20-7 in the frame, with Courtney Donaldson coming off the bench to score five points to spark the surge.
Calgary stretched the lead to double digits in the third quarter, but the Cascades hung tough and cut the deficit to six points (57-51) with six and a half minutes left in regulation after Thompson and Jessica Zawada hit triples on consecutive possessions.
The Dinos, though, responded with a 14-0 run, capped by a Michaela Nieuwenhuizen layup, to seize control. The Cascades were hampered by foul trouble during that stretch, and saw their starting backcourt of Kate Head and Victoria Jacobse foul out of the game.
“We didn’t play with the personality we normally play with (in the first quarter),” Calgary head coach Damian Jennings said. “I think you saw it in the third and the fourth. We played on the front foot in transition a little bit more . . . it opened up a few shots for us.”
Claggett paced the Cascades with 15 points and seven boards, Thompson scored 12, and Jacobse finished with seven points and five rebounds.
Erin McIntosh scored a game-high 21 points for the Dinos, and Nieuwenhuizen (11) and Donaldson (10) also scored in double digits.
Men’s Volleyball ( Jordie Arthur, Cascades communications assistant ): Cascades fall to Mariners in epic five-setter
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team pushed the Vancouver Island University Mariners to the limit on Friday night in Nanaimo, only to fall in five sets.
The teams alternated set victories throughout the match, with the Mariners eventually prevailing by scores of 25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 30-32, 15-6.
VIU (12-7) and UFV (1-16) wrap up the weekend set on Saturday afternoon.
“We felt very good about our game throughout most of that match,” UFV head coach Kyle Donen noted. “The energy and battle that we had tonight was what we’ve been searching for.
“Our overall energy and compete as a group was great. Every guy that came in to do something for us played incredibly well. Provided something extra, or something different that just sparked us a little bit.”
The Mariners took a modest 8-5 lead early, and they would not give it up, carrying it through to a 25-21 first-set victory.
The Cascades fought back in the second, getting out to a 15-8 lead, and despite a late charge from VIU the visitors held on to win it 25-21.
With the third set even at 20, the Mariners scored five of the last six points to take it.
The fourth set was a marathon, with the Cascades eventually prevailing in epic fashion, 32-30. The hosts built a 23-20 lead late, but a service run from Josh Fefchak sparked life into the UFV squad as they went up 24-23. The teams traded blows until UFV was able to gain the advantage and close it out on the back of some timely attacking play from Landon Uy.
The hosts controlled the fifth set, building an 8-2 lead thanks to a five-serve run by Braydon Brouwer, and closed it out 15-6.
Jackson Obst led UFV with 12 kills, followed by Graeme Hughes with 11 and Justin Peleshytyk with nine. Uy also had a strong performance with seven kills of his own, while Carter Bronson had a team-high 13 digs. Ben Friesen and Adam Frederickson shared the setting duties, posting 28 and nine set assists, respectively.
The Mariners’ Brouwer led his team with 17 kills, while Adam Kapteyn had 12.
Donen noted that despite the loss, it felt like a positive step for his team.
“It felt like a win to get that fourth set and force a fifth the way we did,” he said. “We just kept grinding and kept battling, and we stole it.
“I feel proud of what we did tonight and I hope we can continue that feeling tomorrow and channel it into a full match win.”
Women’s Volleyball ( Jordie Arthur, Cascades communications assistant ): No. 1-ranked Mariners top Cascades in Nanaimo
The University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team dropped a three-set decision to the Vancouver Island University Mariners on Friday night in Nanaimo.
In a clash of nationally ranked squads, the CCAA No. 1 Mariners took the opening set 25-16. The No. 9-ranked Cascades were in prime position to square the match, leading 20-16 in the second, but VIU rallied to take it 26-24, and they wrapped things up by a 25-10 count in the third.
UFV (11-6) and VIU (17-0) renew hostilities on Saturday afternoon (1 p.m., pacwestbc.tv).
“They’re obviously a very strong team, and they put you under pressure the whole time, but we have to play better if we want to compete with the top team in the country,” said UFV head coach Mike Gilray. “The girls got a bit of a challenge, and hopefully they’ll come back tomorrow with a better fight.”
With the first set even at 12-12, VIU’s Andrea Cankovic went on a seven-serve run to give the visitors a 19-12 lead on their way to a 25-16 victory.
The two teams matched each other point-for-point early in the pivotal second set. Deadlocked at 16-16, UFV would get a service run from Keira Fisher to seize a 20-16 advantage. However, the hosts came storming back to take the lead at 25-24. A controversial set-point ensued – the ball came down on VIU’s side of the net, and the line judge ruled the ball to have landed out of bounds while the head referee ruled it in. After a lengthy discussion it was decided that the point would be replayed. VIU would go on to take the replayed point, and the set 26-24.
The third set saw the Mariners continue their momentum, as they jumped out to an 8-0 lead on service by Karoline Tormena, and they closed out the match 25-10.
Gilray noted that the second set was turning point of the match.
“We had opportunities to win that set, and obviously it’s a different game if it’s 1-1,” he noted.
Libero Stephanie Demeules led UFV defensively, posting 16 digs. Kim Bauder and Chelsea Kidd also had strong performances with 14 and 10 digs, respectively. Fisher had a team-high eight kills, while Kidd had seven.
Tormena and Danielle Groenendijk had seven kills apiece to lead VIU.
