Men’s Volleyball:
An epic second set broke the Douglas Royals’ way, sparking the hosts to victory over the University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team on Saturday afternoon in New Westminster.
The Royals, coming off a three-set win on Saturday in Abbotsford, prevailed on their home court in the rematch by scores of 25-19, 36-34 and 25-17.
Douglas, ranked No. 2 in the CCAA national poll, took sole possession of first place in the PACWEST conference with an 11-2 record, while fifth-place UFV fell to 5-10.
The second set proved pivotal. UFV built a 24-22 lead, but Douglas staved off an incredible 12 set points on their way to a 36-34 win.
“Better effort today, but we had a couple mental mistakes,” said Cascades head coach Nathan Bennett, noting that with his team up 24-23 in the second set, the apparent winning point on a net serve by Douglas was wiped out as UFV was out of rotation.
“That’s just a mental mistake that gave away the set. At the end of the day, we played really good volleyball after that (in the second set). If we can harness that and know that we can do it, that’s a bonus continuing on here in January.”
The Cascades volleyball teams are back in action at home next weekend, hosting the Vancouver Island University Mariners in a Friday/Saturday set.
Women’s Volleyball: Royals knock off Cascades to salvage weekend split
A second-set stumble proved costly as the University of the Fraser Valley womenâs volleyball team fell to the Douglas Royals on Saturday afternoon in New Westminster.
The CCAA No. 10-ranked Cascades (7-6), coming off a four-set triumph on Friday in Abbotsford, were unable to wrap up a sweep of the weekend home-and-home series, falling by scores of 25-22, 26-24 and 25-18 to the No. 13-ranked Royals (6-7).
âI think we just did the same things that were working last night, which was understandable,â UFV head coach Janelle Rozema said afterward. âBut Douglas made adjustments to that, and we needed another step of adjusting to that. They blocked and defended better against our offence. Itâs really good information for us that we need to add more to our toolbox when we get back to training.â
Just as they had the night before, the Royals took the first set, but the Cascades appeared to be in complete control in the second, building a 24-20 lead. Douglas, though, reeled off six straight points to steal the set, and it proved to be the turning point of the match as they finished things off in the third.
âI felt a really good vibe on our side of the net, and I was surprised we didnât close it out, as was our team,â Rozema said. âDouglas made us have to earn our point, and we just couldnât find a way to finish the play at the end of the rally.â
Kristen McBride led the Cascades offensively for the second straight night, registering 10 kills. Amanda Matsui and Sedona Arabsky chipped in with seven kills apiece, and Chelsea Kidd had six. Matsui (17) and liberos Stephanie Demeules (14) and Ashley Huberts (13) each posted double-digit digs, and Sarah Brownlee came off the bench to notch 28 set assists.
Emma Schill (13 kills) and Grace Warkentin (12 kills) were the offensive leaders for the Royals, and setter Jane Kepler had 40 assists.
The Cascades volleyball teams are back in action at home next weekend, hosting the Vancouver Island University Mariners in a Friday/Saturday set.
Men’s Basketball: Cascades bounce back for big win over UBC
The University of the Fraser Valley menâs basketball team delayed UBC Thunderbirds head coach Kevin Hansonâs ascent to the top of the Canada West coaching wins list, toppling the T-Birds 84-82 on Saturday evening.
Hanson, by virtue of UBCâs 80-63 win over the Cascades on Friday, had moved into a tie with Alberta Golden Bears legend Don Horwood with 313 career regular-season victories, and he was poised to take sole possession of the mark in Saturdayâs rematch.
The Cascades, though, had other ideas. Vick Toor scored a game-high 19 points, Daniel Adediran had a huge double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and UFV (4-6) limited the T-Birds (9-3) to 40.5 per cent shooting from the field en route to victory.
âWeâve been in a lot of basketball games and come out on the wrong side of a few we wish we could have back,â Cascades head coach Adam Friesen noted. âWeâre hoping this builds momentum for us over the final half of the season.
âWe did it together. Definitely a team effort, whether it be the offensive side or the rebounds. The fact that we won the rebounding battle both nights is something thatâs quite frankly a little bit surprising. But the guys were challenged to show up and compete, and they answered that challenge.â
The U SPORTS No. 10-ranked Thunderbirds were the sharper team in the early going, building a 17-9 lead after Jonah Morrison sunk a jumper in the paint. The visitors stretched the lead to 13 points (29-16) early in the second quarter, but the Cascades answered with an 18-7 surge, highlighted by a pair of Jaskarn Bajwa triples, and were within 42-39 at the break.
Adediran ignited the UFV squad in the third quarter, reeling off seven straight points early in the frame â a dunk, a jumper, and a triple â as the hosts led by as many as five. But UBC hung tough, and it was 61-61 heading to the fourth.
A Sukhjot Bains trey with 2:43 left put the Cascades up 78-74, but UBCâs Zack Moore responded with a triple of his own on the next possession. UFV nursed a slender lead down the stretch, and were up 83-81 after Toor made one of two at the free throw line with 15 seconds remaining. UFV had a foul to give, and Bains tried to give it as UBCâs Jadon Cohee began his drive to the hoop, but the officials granted Cohee continuance and two free throws. He made one of two, as did Bains at the other end of the floor to set up a tense final possession.
UBCâs Manroop Clair got loose for a three-point attempt that clanged off the rim, Moore tracked down the rebound and launched a fadeaway that missed, Grant Shephardâs tip bounced out, and the Cascades finally tipped the ball out of harmâs way as time expired.
Parm Bains chipped in with 15 points and six assists for the Cascades, and Bajwa had a perfect shooting night, going 4-for-4 from the field (including a trio of treys) for 11 points. Matt Cooley added eight points and seven boards, as UFV earned a 45-37 edge in the rebounding department.
Five UBC players scored in double figures: Clair (17), Moore (14), Taylor Browne (14), Cohee (13) and Shephard (12).
âVick and Daniel were huge throughout, and Jazz (Bajwa) made massive shots for us as well,â said Friesen, reflecting on the play of his teamâs supporting cast. âI think UBC challenged the rest of our team outside of Sukhjot and Parm to step up and be playmakers and beat them. The guys recognized what the challenge was and bounced back terrifically tonight. There were plays being made all over the court by a number of guys.â
The Cascades hit the road next weekend to face the UNBC Timberwolves, while the Thunderbirds host the Trinity Western Spartans.
Women’s Basketball: Fast-starting Cascades sprint past T-Birds
A scorching-hot start lit the fuse for the University of the Fraser Valley womenâs basketball team on Saturday evening as they defeated the UBC Thunderbirds 77-62.
The Cascades, coming off a heartbreaking 76-74 loss to the T-Birds on Friday in which a pair of UFV three-point attempts clanged off the rim in the dying seconds, led by as many as 23 points in the first half, then fended off a UBC comeback effort in the third quarter to seal a decisive victory.
UFV (6-4) had a strong effort defensively, limiting the Thunderbirds (8-4) to 29.6 per cent shooting from the field, and rookie Jessica Parker paced the offence with a career-high 19 points.
âYou never know how your team is going to react after a close loss,â Cascades head coach Al Tuchscherer said afterward. âYou just hope theyâre going to come back with a more determined effort, and they did tonight. It was fantastic to see that they came out even more hungry. We got UBC on their heels a little bit, and that carried on throughout the rest of the game.â
The Cascades led wire-to-wire, opening the game on a 5-0 run highlighted by three points from Parker, and were up 29-13 at the end of the first quarter. They continued to cruise in the second, opening the frame with an Amanda Thompson jumper, a Jessica Zawada triple, and an Alexis Worrell up-and-under bucket to stake out a 36-13 advantage.
The T-Birds had missed their first 10 attempts from beyond the arc, but caught fire in the third quarter to get back into the game. They canned a trio of triples in just over a minute, with a pair from Jessica Hanson bookending one from Gabrielle Laguerta, to trim a 51-31 deficit to 51-40 in the blink of an eye.
The Cascades locked it down on defence at that point, holding UBC scoreless over the first five-plus minutes of the fourth quarter. Maddy Gobeil capped a 10-0 run with a three-pointer to make it 68-48 with four and a half minutes left in regulation and essentially drain any suspense from the proceedings.
âWe had a flat start and got ourselves into foul trouble,â UBC head coach Deb Huband noted afterward. âWe got started on the wrong foot and they had a great start . . . bad start, foul trouble impacts the game from that point on. I thought they did a great job with tempo and attacking, taking advantage of us particularly in the first half.â
Parker sparked the Cascadesâ transition attack, shooting 7-of-12 from the field and adding six rebounds and four steals. Forwards Taylor Claggett (16 points, nine rebounds, five assists) and Deanna Tuchscherer (15 points, 11 rebounds) also had big nights, Gobeil finished with 12 points, and defensive stopper Amanda Thompson posted a game-high +19 plus/minus rating.
Hanson and Keylyn Filewich posted 18 points apiece for UBC, but they were the lone T-Birds to score in double figures.
âWeâre working hard defensively this year,â Al Tuchscherer said. âPat (Lee, assistant coach) has come in and thrown some new ideas at the girls. Itâs still a growth process at the defensive end of the floor, but the girls are starting to understand what weâre looking for there. I thought Taylor two nights in a row did a really good job battling Filewich.â
The Cascades hit the road next weekend to face the UNBC Timberwolves, while the Thunderbirds host the Trinity Western Spartans.
