Carter Bronson (12) and the Cascades turned in a terrific offensive performance in a five-set win over Camosun.
The University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team played its best offensive game of the season on Saturday afternoon, rallying for a five-set victory over the Camosun Chargers at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
It was the second straight day the two teams had battled all the way to five sets – Camosun had won the opener on Friday.
The first set in Saturday’s rematch consisted of long point-for-point rallies, with the Chargers surging ahead late to win 25-21. The Cascades turned it around in the second to take a 25-23 win but fell behind early in the third, and Camosun took it 25-19. UFV leveled the match 25-21 in the fourth, and continued that momentum in the fifth, prevailing 15-11.
Cascades setter Adam Frederickson unleashes a serve.
UFV improved to 2-4, while Camosun fell to 4-2.
“I think the weekend was a turning point for our season,” Cascades head coach Kyle Donen said. “The result that we got today was a better one, and I think having the feeling of the win will help. It was huge for us.
“The things we tried to do better were better; offensively it was the best weekend we have had all year.”
After the Chargers claimed the first set, the Cascades clawed out a two-point win in the second with left side Nick Bruce and right side Graeme Hughes spearheading the attack.
Camosun raced out to a 5-1 lead in the third set, but the Cascades hung around thanks to strong offensive contributions from Bruce, Hughes and Josh Fefchak. The visitors, though, were able to pull away late.
The Cascades built a 16-11 lead in the fourth, with captain Ben Friesen doing some outstanding work defensively. Chargers left side Jerome Cross caused trouble for UFV, but Cascades put a three-man block on him and were able to square the match once again.
In the fifth, Camosun built a slender 8-7 lead, but two kills from Hughes and a pair of Chargers hitting errors helped the hosts pull away and secure the victory.
Left sides Bruce (20 kills, three aces, nine digs) and Friesen (18 kills, two aces, 13 digs) both had terrific all-around performances for the Cascades. It was Bruce’s second straight game with at least 20 kills, after a 27-kill effort on Friday. Hughes joined them in double-figure kills with 13.
The Cascades volleyball teams now head into their bye week, and return to game action Nov. 10-11 at home vs. the Douglas Royals.
– by Raelyn O’Hara, UFV student communications assistant
Comments are closed.