The University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team rallied from an early deficit to earn a four-set victory over the Camosun Chargers on Friday.
Playing at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre, the Cascades lost the first set 25-17, but bounced back to take the next three 25-22, 25-17 and 25-19.
The Cascades boosted their record to 4-1, while Camosun (0-5) is still in search of its first win.
The Chargers return to the EFAC on Saturday afternoon for a rematch (women 1 p.m., men 3 p.m.).
“I think we figured out our game plan, and we started cleaning up things,” Cascades left side Kim Bauder said, reflecting on how her squad was able to turn things around after struggling in the opening set. “We were making a lot of unforced errors – we were trying to be perfect. We were able to clean it up and then get our offence going, which really helped us. And we got some key digs that let us turn over and go on some runs.”
Keira Fisher rises up for a kill.
The Chargers opened the first set by claiming an 8-4 lead, but the Cascades battled back to level the score 9-9 with Amanda Matsui leading the offence. The visitors, though, pulled ahead once again by a score of 21-16 as UFV struggled a bit with their passing, and finished off the set from there.
Libero Amy Davidson came off the bench in the second set and brought a steady passing touch. The set was closely contested but UFV scored the last four points, capped by a stuff block from right side Keira Fisher, to square the match at one set apiece.
The Cascades raced out to a 12-6 lead in the third with key kills coming from Teagan Johnston and Kim Bauder. The Chargers cut the deficit to 16-13, but Bauder went on a serving streak to get the lead back to six points and UFV cruised from there.
The hosts once again got off to a strong start in the fourth, going up 11-3, and Bauder closed out the match with aces for two of the last three points.
Matsui (15 kills, three aces) and Bauder (12 kills, four aces) both put pressure on the Chargers at the net and at the service line, while setter Kara Williams, stepping into the starting lineup for the injured Olivia Heinen, registered 38 assists. Three Cascades posted double-figure digs: Bauder (13), Matsui (12) and Davidson (12), who notched her total in just three sets.
“It was a big transition putting Amy in in that second game,” Cascades head coach Mike Gilray said. “She just stepped up and was passing fantastic. But offensively, we were still making poor errors, even with that really good passing. I thought Kara did a really good job distributing, and I think we were just a little tight and maybe trying to do more because we didn’t play well in the first set.
“But I think we allowed ourselves to settle in, and I think one of the best things we do is, we battle. The girls got that fiery competitiveness going because Camosun was playing so well. It really started to bring up our game, and for us to get a couple big points at key times really helped us to get our momentum going.”
– by Raelyn O’Hara, UFV student communications assistant
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