Fraser Valley – The University of the Fraser Valley volleyball programs finally have a firm date for their long-awaited Canada West (CW) debut.
That date? November 5, when the Cascades women’s and men’s teams travel to Kelowna to face the UBC Okanagan Heat in their first-ever CW conference matches.
The UFV volleyball squads were initially approved to move up to CW – where the Cascades basketball and soccer teams have played since 2006 – in May 2019, and they were slated to begin play in the fall of 2020. But with COVID-19 wiping out the 2020-21 season, their debut was delayed by a year.
As announced by CW on May 5, 2021-22 schedules across all sports will have a greater focus on regional play where possible, and in that vein, the Cascades’ entire regular-season slate will be played within the province of British Columbia. The 16-game schedule will include four games (two home, two away) against each of their four provincial rivals – UBCO, UBC, Thompson Rivers and Trinity Western. B.C. teams will cross over to face CW foes from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba for the first time in conference action when the playoffs open on March 4.
Other schedule notes:
• All of UFV’s regular-season game dates are women’s/men’s doubleheaders against counterparts from the same university.
• The Cascades’ first four games will be on the road, with a Nov. 5-6 series at UBCO followed by a Nov. 12-13 series at UBC.
• The UFV volleyball programs will host their first-ever CW home games at the UFV Athletic Centre Nov. 26 and 27 vs. the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.
• The Cascades’ games vs. local rival Trinity Western are organized in a pair of home-and-home series. The first of those runs Dec. 2 (at UFV) and Dec. 3 (at TWU).
• UFV volleyball home doubleheaders in the fall semester (Nov/Dec) will see the women’s team playing the early game followed by the men’s team in the late game. In the winter semester (Jan/Feb) that will be reversed – the men will play first, followed by the women.
• A total of 12 men’s and 12 women’s teams will advance to the CW playoffs. The first round of the playoffs, March 4-6, feature three four-team pools that will battle for six spots in the second round, March 11-13. In the second round, the teams will be divided into two pools with the top two teams in each advancing to the CW Final Four March 18-19.
Fans looking to follow the action on Canada West TV presented by Co-op will be able to buy passes beginning in August when 2021-22 packages go on sale to the public.
