The University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team started off the weekend with a four-set win against the Capilano Blues at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre on Friday.
Cascades captain Monique Huber sparked her team with her serving in the third set on Friday. (Tree Frog Imaging file photo)
The Cascades opened a big lead in the first set en route to a 25-20 win, but the Blues came back in the second with a stronger team effort for a 25-20 win of their own. UFV fought hard for their points in the third and fourth and closed out the match by scores of 25-18 and 25-13.
The Cascades moved into sole possession of first place in the PACWEST at 3-0, while the Blues fell to 1-2. The two teams return to the Envision Financial Athletic Centre for a Saturday night rematch (women 5 p.m., men 7 p.m.).
“We had a few inconsistencies,” said Cascades head coach Mike Gilray. “But in this conference, you have to show up every night ready to play, and despite the youth in our team we came out firing.”
The Cascades had a strong night at the service line with seven aces. Amanda Matsui paced the offence with 11 kills added 11 digs, and libero Karissa Marazzi notched 23 digs.
The Cascades raced out to a 12-3 lead in the first set, as the Blues struggled to pass, leaving UFV with ample opportunities to swing. The left sides were on fire this game with Matsui going on a long serving streak and Kim Bauder scoring the final point on an unreturnable kill. The teams switched roles in the second set with UFV struggling to pass and the Blues on a hitting roll. The third set was closely contested until Cascades senior middle Monique Huber served her team into a 22-16 lead. UFV got a significant head start in the fourth set (14-6) with the help of several Keira Fisher kills and some strong serves.
– by Raelyn O’Hara, Cascades student communications assistant
Comments are closed.