Abbotsford/Langley (Dan Kinvig/TWU Athletics) – Women’s Volleyball: Spartans’ serving keeps Cascades off-balance
The Trinity Western Spartans’ relentless pressure from the service line was the difference on Thursday as they defeated the University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team in three straight sets.
The U SPORTS No. 1-ranked Spartans registered nine aces on the night, hampering the Cascades’ efforts to sustain momentum offensively.
UFV (5-8) and TWU (12-1) complete their home-and-home series on Friday at the Langley Events Centre (6 p.m., CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op).
“They served really tough, and we made a lot of unforced errors,” Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema said afterward. “It’s really high-level volleyball, and for a young team like this, we’re learning how to play that high-level volleyball for longer. We call it ‘excellence endurance.’ That’s what we’re working on.
“Offensively, Trinity just has a lot of threats. You can only dig for so long. Our attackers have to start putting balls away, and we lacked that tonight.
“But I think it’s a great learning experience for us, and we keep talking about how we want to be in these matches. We’ll never develop that excellence endurance if we’re not playing these teams.”
The Cascades went toe-to-toe with the Spartans off the start – they were level at 10-10 in the first set after back-to-back kills from Amanda Matsui. TWU, though, was much sharper late in the set, and their serving cranked up the pressure on UFV. The visitors scored nine of the last 10 points, with Mikayla Benterud and Olivia Heinen at the service line, to take it 25-16.
Savannah Purdy took over the match at the service line to open the second – she reeled off three aces in quick succession and had the Cascades in all kinds of trouble as TWU built an 8-1 lead. They cruised from there, winning 25-12.
The Spartans surged ahead early in the third set before Sadie Wilson caught fire for the Cascades. The senior right side notched two blocks and a kill to draw her team back to within 16-13, but another Benterud service run – highlighted by a pair of aces – allowed the TWU to pull away once again and take it 25-16.
Amanda Matsui finished with eight kills for the Cascades, Wilson had six, and Emily Matsui notched a game-high 15 digs.
Avery Heppell paced the TWU attack with 10 kills, and Benterud (four aces) and Purdy (three aces) led the service-line assault.
IN BRIEF:
• The Cascades celebrated senior libero Stephanie Demeules and 2021 graduate Kara Williams in a pregame Senior Night ceremony. The women’s volleyball squad will host a second round of senior festivities on Sunday, as they honour Amanda Matsui and Sadie Wilson prior to a 6 p.m. start vs. the UBC Okanagan Heat at the UFV Athletic Centre.
Men’s Volleyball: Hot-hitting Spartans top Cascades in three
The top-ranked team in the nation lived up to its advance billing on Thursday evening, as the Trinity Western Spartans topped the University of the Fraser Valley in Canada West men’s volleyball action.
The U SPORTS No. 1 Spartans prevailed by scores of 25-11, 25-15 and 25-13, and their offence was clicking all night – they hit .631 as a team.
The Cascades (0-13) and Spartans (13-0) complete the home-and-home series at the Langley Events Centre on Friday (8 p.m., CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op).
“They were definitely a little tighter and cleaner than they were last semester,” observed Cascades senior setter Graham Walkey, alluding to the fact that UFV took a combined three sets over two nights from the Spartans back in December.
“But really, we didn’t bring the intensity today. We have to have the effort and mental focus the whole time to be able to hang in with these guys. We just didn’t have it today.”
Two straight Eduardo Ferreira aces kept the Cascades close early in the first set, but the Spartans were red-hot from the service line themselves. They posted three aces of their own in the set – including two from Jackson Howe – and kept UFV from getting its offence rolling en route to a 25-11 victory.
Bailey Burdick came off the bench to give the Cascades a lift in the second – he notched a block and a kill on back-to-back points to put the hosts up 5-4 early, but the Spartans were able to steadily pull away in the middle portion of the set. The visitors were cooking offensively, with 18 kills against just one error as a team, and Brodie Hofer led the way with five kills as TWU took it 25-15.
The Spartans continued to roll in the third, scoring the first seven points of the set with Jesse Elser at the service line, and they went on to close it out 25-13.
“We had a bit of a slow start, but when you give these guys momentum, it’s so tough to bring it back,” Walkey noted. “Their serving was at the top of their game, and we were struggling to pass.”
The Cascades, playing the first game of a four-games-in-five-days stretch, rested their starters after the first set. Burdick and Comrie Engbers had five kills apiece, and Stefan Halas chipped in with four. Walkey had 16 assists.
Elser and Hofer tied for team-high honours with nine kills apiece for the Spartans, who set a program record for hitting efficiency. Jackson Howe added seven kills and two service aces.
