A terrific night from the service line powered the University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team to a straight-sets victory over the College of the Rockies Avalanche on Friday.
The Cascades racked up 13 aces, including five from Joel Kleingeltink, and put the Avalanche under pressure on countless other points with their tough serving, en route to the win (29-27, 25-20, 25-16).
“Our serving game was the biggest part of our offence tonight,” UFV head coach Kyle Donen said afterward. “We served them off the court at times, and that really gave us momentum, I think. It gave us energy and allowed us to play our game.
“Different guys were stepping up at different times. When you put a team in trouble from the service line, then it becomes easier to predict what they’re going to do offensively, and we did a great job of that tonight.”
UFV (2-1) was coming off a loss to the Columbia Bible College Bearcats the previous Saturday, and Donen was hoping to see a greater level of poise and focus from his charges. They had an uneven start, blowing a lead in the first set and surviving a set point opportunity for the Avalanche before rallying to win. From there, they buckled down.
Kurtis Stromdahl and Adam Chaplin hammered down 10 kills apiece for the Cascades, while Robert Koenig joined Kleingeltink in spearheading the strong effort from the service line and notched two aces.
“We did carry that momentum (after the first set),” Donen noted. “We came out strong in the second, let them climb back a little bit again. But in the last set, we ran away so fast, we didn’t have time to stumble. We finished strong.
“It was a great rebound match for us, coming off a loss last weekend. This is a great way to start the weekend, but we want to finish it off tomorrow and come with the same kind of energy.”
The Cascades and Avalanche play again tomorrow at the EAC – the women at 6 p.m., and the men at 8 p.m.
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