Fraser Valley (Dan Kinvig) – Women’s Volleyball : Cascades earn first-ever Canada West playoff win, beat Bobcats in four
The University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team turned in a tough-minded performance on their home court on Friday evening, knocking off the Brandon Bobcats in four sets for the first playoff win in program history.
The Cascades prevailed 25-23, 13-25, 28-26, 25-15 before an enthusiastic crowd at the UFV Athletic Centre, improving to 1-1 in Pool A play while leaving Brandon with a matching 1-1 mark.
UFV wraps up the round-robin event on Saturday vs. the 0-2 Calgary Dinos (4 p.m., UFV Athletic Centre), and can all but assure themselves of a spot in the second round of the CW playoffs with a win. Brandon wraps things up against the Trinity Western Spartans (2-0) at 6 p.m. at the Langley Events Centre.
“It confirms what we’ve been trying to believe in all along,” Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema said afterward, reflecting on the landmark result. “We’re here to win. We’re not just here to be happy to be a part of the playoffs. We have a goal to be a winning program, a championship program, and every time we figure out how to win in a season like this, we’re learning.
“I think that’s just going to go to the future of this program, and beyond.”
The Cascades got off to a strong start, opening an 11-5 lead in the first set behind a four-point Amanda Matsui service run, capped by back-to-back aces. The Bobcats were able to close to within 12-11, with Taryn Hannah picking up a trio of key kills, and they would go on to build a 22-20 edge. UFV would score four points in a row, though, siding out via a Grace Warkentin kill and then reeling off three points with Liz Baird at the service line. Warkentin would close it out 25-23 with a kill.
The second set was all Brandon – they opened leads of 5-1 and 7-2 early, and served tough throughout the set to blitz the Cascades 25-13.
The visitors appeared poised to take the third set, leading 24-22, but the Cascades staved off two set points as Kristen McBride notched a kill and Amanda Matsui followed with a service ace. Later on, tied 26-26, rookie middle Mo Likness hammered an emphatic kill to give set point to UFV, and McBride closed it out with a service ace.
The Cascades left no doubt in the fourth set, building leads of 5-1 and 14-7, and cruising from there.
Matsui racked up a game-high 16 kills for the Cascades, including one that set off a celebration on match point. Warkentin had a big night, contributing 14 kills and hitting .273, and Likness had nine kills on 14 swings with no errors for a .643 hitting mark. Cailin Bitter posted 28 assists, and libero Emily Matsui excelled on her way to 24 digs.
Rookie Lian Shworts also stepped up for the Cascades – with starting right side Sadie Wilson sidelined due to injury, Shworts was inserted into the lineup and had two kills and six digs.
“We’ve had some real special moments this year when our team is hurting,” Rozema said, alluding to the fact that her squad earned its first-ever CW victory at UBC back in November with Amanda Matsui sidelined. “I think it was the same thing today with Sadie. Rather than feeling sorry for ourselves, we were excited to see what Lian could do, and she did a great job.”
Ravyn Wiebe led the way for the Bobcats with 14 kills, Keely Anderson had 11 kills, and setter Jamie Bain posted 32 assists.
Men’s Volleyball: T-Birds survive Cascades’ upset bid, win four-setter
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team made the UBC Thunderbirds sweat, extending the first three sets of Friday’s Canada West playoff clash to extra points, but the T-Birds ultimately fended off the Cascades’ upset bid and prevailed in four.
The Cascades had their chances in the first two sets, but UBC’s execution was sharper in the late stages of both, and they took them by scores of 27-25 and 26-24.
The T-Birds were poised to end it in three, leading 24-22 in the third, but UFV fended off a trio of match points and won it 27-25. Nimo Benne and Caleb Kastelein had crucial kills down the stretch as the Cascades extended the match.
The UFV bandwagon ran out of gas in the fourth, as UBC pulled away to close it out in decisive fashion, 25-18.
The Cascades fall to 0-2 in Pool B playoff action hosted by the Alberta Golden Bears. They wrap up the round robin on Saturday vs. the Saskatchewan Huskies (3 p.m. MT, 2 p.m. PT), while the Thunderbirds (1-1) face the Golden Bears (8 p.m. MT, 7 p.m. PT). Saskatchewan and Alberta are both 1-0 heading into their Friday evening clash at the Saville Community Sports Centre.
“I’m very proud of our guys,” Cascades head coach Nathan Bennett said. “They played a complete match with a battle level that we’ve seen spurts of in the past. They managed to have a consistent effort over the entire match, and that shows growth over a tumultuous year. I couldn’t be happier to see what they can do on the big stage.”
The Cascades got big games from a pair of attackers. Right side Benne registered a team-high 16 kills and hit .448, and middle Noah Bouius had 13 kills on 18 swings with no errors for a scorching .722 hitting percentage. Kastelein added 12 kills for UFV and came up particularly big late in sets, while setter Jonas Van Huizen dished out 44 assists.
“That was Noah’s best match offensively that we’ve seen all season,” Bennett said. “Nimo is dealing with some adversity, and he had a huge match today, too. And Jonas had a great performance by sticking to the game plan and finding guys that were hot.”
Abbotsford product Cole Brandsma had a huge game against his hometown team, racking up a game-high 26 kills and hitting .467 for the T-Birds. Michael Dowhaniuk added 14 kills, Zarley Zalusky chipped in with nine kills on 13 swings, and setter Mason Greves posted 50 assists.
UBC was the more efficient team offensively, hitting .417 to the Cascades’ .268, but UFV was the more dangerous team from the service line, with a 10-7 edge in aces.
Men’s Basketball: Wesmen rally past Cascades for 83-79 playoff win
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s basketball team saw its season come to an end at the hands of the Winnipeg Wesmen, who rallied for an 83-79 victory over the Cascades in the Round of 16 at the Canada West playoff tournament in Calgary.
The Cascades led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter and were up 10 late in the third, but the Wesmen battled all the way back to punch their ticket to the CW quarter-finals.
“Credit to Winnipeg – they hit shots when they needed to,” UFV head coach Joe Enevoldson said afterward. “Don Dayrit was phenomenal in the second half. He took it upon himself – hit a couple threes early (in the third quarter), and showed why he’s the second-leading scorer in the conference.
“We settled a little bit offensively – got a little iso-dominant, and that was enough to swing it. They got to the line a lot, and we didn’t. Unfortunately that’s the way the game unfolded.”
After a disjointed start by both teams, the Cascades gained some separation in the first quarter via the three-ball. Jake Willemsen connected on a pair of treys from the left corner – the second of which beat the first-quarter buzzer – as UFV took a 22-14 lead into the second.
The Cascades continued to cook from downtown – Dylan Kinley drained back-to-back triples midway through the second as UFV extended the lead to 16 (37-21). A four-point play from Eric Racine helped stymie the Cascades’ momentum, igniting an 11-2 Wesmen surge, and they were able to get back to within 42-35 at halftime.
The Wesmen made their move late in the third quarter as Joshua Gandier caught fire from beyond the arc. He drained a trio of triples in quick succession bridging the third and fourth quarters, igniting a 14-2 run to help his squad transform a 59-49 deficit into a 63-61 lead.
Winnipeg led by as many as five midway through the fourth, but the Cascades battled back to lead 75-72 after Vick Toor converted an acrobatic reverse layup and a three-pointer on consecutive possessions. The Wesmen kept coming, though, and grabbed a 77-76 lead after Racine made a fast-break layup with 40 seconds left in regulation.
After a pair of Shawn Maranan free throws put Winnipeg up 79-76, Jordyn Sekhon had a clean look to tie – reminiscent of his big fourth-quarter shot in the 2020 playoffs against the Wesmen – but his three-pointer from the right wing rimmed out. Winnipeg was able to make their free throws in the dying seconds to close out the win.
Zubair Seyed led the Cascades with 16 points off the bench, and Toor stuffed the stat sheet with 11 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Dylan Kinley (12 points) and Kyle Claggett (11 points) also scored in double figures for UFV.
Dayrit posted a game-high 23 for Winnipeg, Racine scored 21, and Spas Nikolov had 10 points and 16 rebounds.
Turnovers cost the Cascades in this game – they gave the ball away 25 times compared to just 14 for the Wesmen, who move on to face the top-seeded Alberta Golden Bears in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Afterward, Enevoldson tipped his cap to graduating seniors Sekhon and Toor, who are set to close the book on their university basketball careers.
“I want to thank Jordy and Vick for leading the program and establishing their legacy,” he said. “Jordy obviously hit the shot heard round the world vs. Winnipeg a couple years ago, and Vick leaves as our all-time assist leader.
“They’ve had tremendous careers, and each year they got a little bit better. They both had career years this season, and that’s a credit to them.
“And for the rest of the guys, time to get better.”
