The University of the Fraser Valley women’s volleyball team earned its first win of the PACWEST regular season in decisive fashion, dispatching the Columbia Bible College Bearcats in three straight sets at the Envision Athletic Centre on Friday evening.
The Bearcats had beaten the Cascades in four sets at Columbia Place on Thursday evening, but UFV head coach Mike Gilray’s charges delivered a much tidier performance in the rematch, prevailing by scores of 25-9, 25-18 and 25-14.
Cascades setter Jessica Funk notched 36 assists and four aces in Friday’s win over CBC. (UFV Cascades file photo)
The Cascades improved to 1-2, tied for fourth in the PACWEST, while the Bearcats fell to 1-3.
“Hitters just made better choices today,” Gilray analyzed. “We dropped our errors from 61 to 26, and our passing and serving were on par with our standards. We made the key serves today – we probably missed the same amount (in total), but we kept them under pressure.
“The ability to respond the next day shows the character of the team – working to get better each day and not beating themselves up after having a game where they didn’t show up. I was impressed with the changes they were willing to make to be a better team.”
The Cascades were clicking offensively on this night – they posted an impressive 45 per cent kill efficiency, with left side Kim Bauder leading the way with 14 kills while hitting 57 per cent. Setter Jessica Funk (36 assists) engineered the attack and added four aces, and libero Amy Davidson paced the defence with 13 digs.
Gilray was complimentary of the contribution that reserves Cassidy King and Shaylene Reimer made to the team’s ball-control efforts, and of the versatility that sophomore Chelsea Kidd showed in stints at left side and right side over the two-game set with CBC.
“The players who came off the bench brought positive change and helped us stay in the game,” he said. “It speaks volumes to the depth of our team.”
The Cascades volleyball teams hit the road next weekend to face the VIU Mariners on Friday (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m.) and Saturday (women 1 p.m., men 3 p.m.).
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