Women’s Volleyball(Jordie Arthur, Cascades communications assistant): Cascades stop Avalanche in four sets
The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women’s volleyball team grew stronger as the match wore on, ultimately earning a four-set decision over the College of the Rockies Avalanche on Saturday evening at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
After splitting two closely contested sets, the Cascades built some momentum in the third and closed out the match in dominant fashion (32-30, 23-25, 25-19, 25-9).
UFV and COTR take matching 3-2 records into a rare morning rematch on Sunday (11 a.m., EFAC, pacwestbc.tv).
“People were talking about how far COTR has to travel (from Cranbrook), and they just came out ripping – cheering, loud, ready to go,” Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema said. “We had to identify, OK, these guys are here to compete. It took us a bit to adjust to that.
“We started trying to find ways to get points on the board and be resilient, despite the distraction that came in when they came with that level of energy.”
The game got off to an epic start – the Avalanche built a 24-22 lead in the first, but the Cascades fended off two set points to extend the set, eventually clawing out a 32-30 victory on the back of their stellar play at the net. Timely blocks by Sedona Arabsky and Chelsea Kidd, as well as kills by Kidd and Amanda Matsui, helped lift the Cascades.
The visitors jumped out to an early 7-2 lead in the second set, and despite a strong pushback from UFV, they finished it off 25-23 to square the match.
Megan Clark picked up multiple kills early in the third for COTR, but more strong play at the net from Arabsky and setter Sarah Brownlee helped to propel the Cascades to a 25-19 win in the third.
The Cascades carried all the momentum into the fourth, building a 12-3 lead off strong service play from Brownlee, as they took the decisive set 25-9.
Brownlee, who came off the bench in the second set, posted 13 assists and a pair of blocks to help spark the Cascades. Matsui and Arabsky racked up 10 and eight kills, respectively, while Kristen McBride had five kills and a team-best 10 digs.
Taylor Whittall’s 10 kills paced the Avalanche.
Men’s Volleyball: Shorthanded Cascades dig deep for three-set win over Avalanche
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team battled through a litany of injuries to earn an impressive win over the College of the Rockies Avalanche on Saturday evening.
The Cascades were missing the top three middles on the depth chart – Ian Jagersma, Jackson Obst and Andy Barrero – due to injury and/or illness, yet managed to come together for a strong performance and win in three sets (25-23, 25-23, 25-18).
Third-year Dylan Neudorf and rookie Tanner Geringer stepped into void in the middle and did their part, and right side Landon Uy (17 kills, four service aces) had a monster night to power the Cascades.
UFV (3-2) and COTR (1-4) meet again on Sunday (1 p.m.) at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
“I told them at the beginning of the game – with a little adversity comes opportunity,” Cascades head coach Nathan Bennett said. “The guys that were out there, they took that opportunity and did really well. And I think what else happened is, everybody who had been a starter this season so far, they raised their level. They understood the situation and raised their level for the match tonight, and I commend them. They did a great job.”
A tightly contested opening set saw the Cascades overcome a 23-22 Avalanche lead, with Geringer providing the winning point on a block.
Multiple contentious calls at the end of the second provided some drama, but the Cascades managed to edge out the visitors 25-23 with timely kills from Uy and Caleb Kastelein.
The Avalanche built a 17-15 lead in the third set, but Uy absolutely took over at that point, sparking the Cascades on a game-ending 10-1 run. The Prince George, B.C. product hammered down four kills during that stretch, and served for the last five points, highlighted by back-to-back aces.
Left sides Kastelein (nine kills) and Justin Peleshytyk (eight kills) also had big nights for the Cascades, and Neudorf chipped in with six kills. Setter Graham Walkey posted 35 assists to go with three aces.
COTR’s Gustavo Bertoli and Caleb Peters tied for team-high honours with 11 kills apiece.
“At the end of the day, we’re catching a COTR team that’s a little road-weary,” Bennett said, noting that it was the Avalanche’s third game in three days, having played the CBC Bearcats Thursday and Friday. “It’s a tough schedule, but we’ve got to take the opportunities when they come.”
Bennett lauded the versatility of Geringer and Neudorf.
“Tanner played as a middle in high school so he has the ability to understand the position, but at this level, he’s a little bit undersized (at 6’0”),” he said. “Dylan was a middle last year, but I thought this year he’d better served as an outside hitter, so he’s spent the majority of the year on the outside.
“These guys are Swiss Army knives. They can play any position, and that, with the lack of numbers on our team . . . is very helpful.”
Women’s Basketball: Cascades fall to Dinos, defeat Griffins at exhibition tourney
The University of the Fraser Valley women’s basketball team played its final preseason tune-up games in Calgary, splitting a pair of games.
The Cascades opened with a 66-58 loss to the host Calgary Dinos on Friday, and bounced back for a 65-39 victory over the MacEwan Griffins on Saturday.
UFV’s starts to each game told the story. On Friday, they trailed the Dinos 27-8, a deficit which proved insurmountable. On Saturday, they raced out to a 21-9 lead over the Griffins at the end of the first, and never looked back.
“Yesterday’s start was really problematic for us,” Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer noted. “We were playing catch-up the entire game. We’ve made a bit of a habit of this, and something needed to be fixed. You can’t go down 15 points every night and fight back.
“I thought we got off to a much more energized start today. We went with a different crew to start the game, and I thought they responded well. That had everybody else energized as well, and it was a real team effort tonight.”
FRIDAY: CALGARY 66, UFV 58
The Dinos’ strong start was highlighted by a 13-0 run, and while the Cascades were able to whittle the deficit down to single digits, they ultimately fell short. UFV struggled to take care of the ball, coughing up 29 turnovers, but were able to induce 23 Dinos turnovers to blunt the impact somewhat.
A trio of Cascades scored in double figures – Jessica Parker had a team-high 11 points, and Amanda Thompson and Maddy Gobeil scored 10 apiece. Taylor Claggett chipped in with seven points and a team-leading six boards.
Erin McIntosh (17 points) and Sasha Lichtenwald (12 points, seven rebounds, six steals) led the way for the Dinos.
SATURDAY: UFV 65, MACEWAN 39
The Cascades’ defence was outstanding, generating an eye-popping 35 Griffins turnovers while limiting MacEwan to 28.8 per cent shooting from the field. UFV raced out to a 35-13 halftime lead, and cruised from there.
Claggett led the Cascades with 13 points and seven rebounds, Thompson counted a trio of three-pointers among her 12 points, and Gobeil and Nikki Cabuco scored nine points apiece.
Darian Mahmi (10 points, eight rebounds) was the lone MacEwan player to score in double digits.
UP NEXT: The Cascades basketball teams tip off the 2019-20 Canada West regular season next week on the road vs. the Winnipeg Wesmen (Nov. 1-2). Home-opening weekend is Nov. 15-16 vs. the UBC Okanagan Heat.
Men’s Basketball: Cascades earn weekend split with Vikes to close out preseason
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team wrapped up its preseason schedule by splitting a weekend set vs. the Victoria Vikes.
Weather-related travel delays played havoc with Friday’s schedule – due to ferry cancellations, the Cascades only arrived in Victoria at 7 p.m., which is when their game was supposed to start. The start time was moved back by an hour, and when it was all said and done, the UFV squad was on the wrong end of a 92-75 decision.
The Cascades turned in a much better performance on Saturday, earning an 83-73 victory.
“Defensively we needed to be a lot better (than on Friday), and we used it to motivate ourselves for today,” UFV head coach Adam Friesen said. “The biggest thing for us was we defended with a lot more energy and competed on the glass. They’re a big, physical team and on Friday they had their way on the glass. Today we hung in there.”
FRIDAY: UVIC 92, UFV 75
The Vikes opened a 26-17 lead at the end of the first quarter and kept the Cascades at bay from there. The hosts won the battle of the boards 42-34 and went to the free throw line 27 times compared to UFV’s five. The Vikes also shot extremely efficiently, hitting 54.1 per cent from the field and 43.8 per cent from beyond the arc.
Sukhjot Bains, returning from injury to play his first preseason game of the fall, had a big game for the Cascades, scoring a game-high 21 points including 5-of-10 from beyond the arc. Matt Cooley added 11 points and seven boards, and Parm Bains registered eight assists.
Six Vikes scored in double figures, led by Dominick Oliveri and Aaron Tesfagiorgis with 16 points apiece, and Oliveri added a game-high 14 rebounds.
SATURDAY: UFV 83, UVIC 73
A strong second quarter gave the Cascades a 38-29 lead at halftime, and they were able to push the lead to double digits in the third. UVic drew back to within 74-70 in the fourth, but UFV responded with a 9-0 run to seal the win.
The Cascades closed the gap slightly on the boards in the rematch (UVic held a 42-37 edge), led by eight rebounds – all in the second half – from guard Kenan Hadzovic. Parm Bains led the way offensively, hitting six three-pointers on his way to a game-high 28 points, and Sukhjot Bains scored 17.
Diego Maffia’s 14 points on 6-of-17 shooting were a team-high for the Vikes, and Matthew Ellis and Jason Scully had 13 apiece.
UP NEXT: The Cascades basketball teams tip off the 2019-20 Canada West regular season next week on the road vs. the Winnipeg Wesmen (Nov. 1-2). Home-opening weekend is Nov. 15-16 vs. the UBC Okanagan Heat.
