Kamloops/Abbotsford (Jordie Arthur) – Women’s Volleyball: Cascades complete sweep of WolfPack for ninth consecutive win
Kamloops – The UFV Cascades completed their weekend sweep of the TRU WolfPack with a straight sets victory (25-22, 25-17, 25-18) on Saturday. The win goes down as the Cascades ninth straight victory as they keep rolling this season.
As it happened:
The Cascades pulled away in the opening set to take an 18-14 lead, and despite a late charge from TRU the Cascades held on for the set win.
With the teams even at 18 in the second, UFV picked up the final six points, which included two aces by Cailin Bitter and three kills from Gabrielle Attieh, to take the set.
It was an 18-12 lead for the Cascades in the third set, and that would prove to be enough for the Cascades to close out the match with the 25-18 set win.
Top performers:
Gabrielle Attieh paced the UFV offence with 15 kills and a fantastic .462 hitting percentage. Cailin Bitter had a game-high four aces to go with her 20 set assists in the game.
Brooklyn Olfert led the TRU attack with 11 kills, while Kate Lamothe notched nine on the night.
Quotable:
Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema
“There is really no limit to this group. Every time we play, we are playing better and better. We are still on a steady climb, so I’m really excited to see how we continue to build over the rest of the season.”
“We have to stay hungry for always getting better. Although we are playing really well, I still feel that we haven’t peaked.”
Where they sit:
With the win, the Cascades improve to 13-5 and sit in a three-way tie for third in the conference.
The Cascades women’s volleyball team now has a chance to rest and recover with next week off, and their next action coming at home against the UBCO Heat on February 3 and 4.
Men’s Volleyball
Kamloops – The UFV Cascades took the opening set, but couldn’t hold on as they fell to the TRU WolfPack 3-1 (25-23, 19-25, 21-25, 20-25) on Saturday.
As it happened:
The Cascades started hot, as three blocks from Tyson Ardell in the first set helped boost the to the 25-23 win.
TRU took a 9-6 lead in the second before extending the advantage to 19-14 on their way to even the match at one.
With both teams level at 17 in the third, TRU’s Thundersky Walkigbear picked up three kills and an ace to give the hosts a four-point lead they would not relinquish enroute to the set win.
An ace and two kills from Sam Flowerday gave the WolfPack a 22-18 lead in the fourth and they managed to close out the match from there, 25-20.
Top performers:
Thundersky Walkingbear and Rylan Ibbetson each tallied four kills for the WolfPack, while Sam Flowerday added 10. Sam Elgert picked up 42 assists on the night for TRU.
Nimo Benne led the way with 13 kills for the cascades, while Caleb Kastelein picked up 11 kills and a team-high seven digs. Tyson Ardell posted a team leading six blocks in the contest, while Ryan Hampe added five.
Quotable:
Cascades head coach Nathan Bennett
“We came out on a roll. They had a good run in the middle that made that first set a lot closer, but it was our block defence that allowed us to capitalize on that first set.”
“We came into this year with a goal in mind and falling short of that goal has been frustrating to our group. At the end of the day, we can give guys the opportunity to play and keep solidifying our structure and our culture and what we want to accomplish here.”
Where they sit:
With the loss, the Cascades fall to 4-14 on the season, while the WolfPack improve to 8-8.
The cascades are back in action next week as they play host to the Brandon Bobcats at 6 p.m. on Friday and 5 p.m. on Saturday at the UFV Athletic Centre.
Women’s Volleyball: Cascades complete weekend sweep with victory over WolfPack
Abbotsford, BC – The U SPORTS No. 10 ranked UFV Cascades completed the weekend sweep of the TRU WolfPack with an 86-23 victory on Saturday at the UFV Athletic Centre.
How it happened:
It was a similar script to the previous night, as the Cascades jumped out to an early 27-6 lead in the first quarter.
The Cascades cruised from there, outscoring the WolfPack 59-17 in the final three quarters.
UFV shot 50.9 percent from the field in this one, while the WolfPack struggled to get their shots to fall only managing to put away 17.5 percent of their shot attempts.
Top performers:
Maddy Gobeil led the way for the Cascades with a game-high 19 points to go with four rebounds and four assists. Esther Allison also had a tidy night off the bench for UFV, picking up a game leading nine rebounds in addition to 10 points.
Megan Rouault paced the WolfPack with 10 points, while Maggie Fehr and Josie Mackie each tallied four.
Quotable:
Cascades forward Esther Allison
“We have been trying all week to be a gritty team and get back into the motion of playing the Cascade way, and I think we definitely did that this weekend. It was nice to see what our team can do.”
“I want to remember this feeling. I have been wanting to play better myself this whole year, so being able to do that tonight was nice and I can bring it in to next weekend.”
Where they sit:
The Cascades’ win improves their record to 11-3 on the season, while the WolfPack fall to 1-13 this year.
The Cascades next action will come on the road against the University of Winnipeg on January 27 and 28, while the WolfPack will now return home to take on the Victoria Vikes next weekend.
Men’s Basketball : Big second half from Anderson helps Cascades overcome slow start in victory against TRU
Abbotsford, BC – The UFV Cascades overcame a slow first quarter start to top the TRU WolfPack 79-70 on Saturday at the UFV Athetic Centre.
As it happened:
The WolfPack opened the game with a 17-4 run, and looked to be taking control, but the Cascades worked their way back to cut the deficit to just seven at the end of the first quarter and went into the half down just three.
The Cascades gained the upper hand in the second half. Bolstered by 22 second half points from Courtney Anderson, UFV took a two-point lead at the end of the third and stretched that advantage to as many as 12 in the fourth on their way to the victory.
Top performers:
Courtney Andersonled the Cascades with a game-high 28 points and four steals, while teammate Dylan Kinley notched 17 points seven assists and nine rebounds. Chris Jackson added 15 points, six rebounds and five assists for UFV.
Asher Mayan led the scoring for TRU for the second straight night, as the third-year guard picked up 16 points and 11 rebounds on the night, while Cyrus Harrison knocked down 14 points, and Denys Bachurin added 13.
Quotable:
Cascades head coach Joe Enevoldson
“This inches us one step closer to the playoffs, and obviously that’s the first goal. It was a good gutsy performance with us down at the start with our backs against the wall and we stuck together to win the next three quarters.”
“We lost our minds a bit there in the third quarter, and we have to deal with that adversity a bit better. We don’t want to represent ourselves like that on the night, but there is a lot of emotion when you’re fighting for your playoff lives and both teams were doing that tonight. We have to learn from that, get better, and grow.”
“We have a lot of new bodies this year and guys playing U SPORTS basketball for the first time. Look at Jaydan Bains tonight. He’s a guy that doesn’t really know when he is going to get in, but he comes in tonight and hits two big threes at a clutch time and did a great job. We are a work in progress, and we just have to keep growing.”
Where they sit:
The win moves the Cascades to 7-7 on the season and into a three-way tie for ninth in the conference with the top 12 making the postseason.
The cascades are back in action next week as they travel to Winnipeg for a pair of matches against the Wesmen.
