Friday, Nov. 16: No. 9 Cascades (4-4, 4th in PACWEST) vs. Capilano Blues (3-5, 5th in PACWEST), 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 17: Cascades vs. Blues, 5 p.m.
Envision Financial Athletic Centre
Webcast: pacwestbc.tv

In their last game action two weeks ago, the Cascades authored a head-turning performance against the Douglas Royals – the No. 2-ranked team in the nation at the time. UFV won the opener on Nov. 2 in Abbotsford in four sets, then took Douglas to five sets the next day before settling for a weekend split.

It was almost a shame to go on a bye immediately after that momentum-building showing, but head coach Mike Gilray's CCAA No. 9-ranked squad returns from its one-week break in full health, ready to attack the rest of its first-semester schedule.

"It's that balance between being tested and being rested, right?" Gilray said. "Sometimes when you come off being rested, you've got to make sure you're ready on Day 1 (coming off a bye). I think we're in a good spot because we've practiced well, and we'll be ready."

One particular element of their game the Cascades are hoping to carry over from the Douglas weekend would be their serving – they racked up 17 aces in the Nov. 2 victory. Five players rank in the top 11 in PACWEST in aces: Kim Bauder (first), Kara Williams (third), Alysha Cooper (fifth), Lexi Edwards (ninth) and Amanda Matsui (11th).

"We're hoping to find some consistency with that serving so we can stay at that high level and put teams in trouble," he said. "We want to keep Cap out of system with our serving and letting our transition game go to work."

Players to watch: Cascades sophomore left side Amanda Matsui earned PACWEST player of the week honours following the Douglas weekend, after racking up a combined 41 kills over the two matches. She currently ranks second in the league in kills (2.75/set) and third in total offence (3.36 points/set). The Blues have a dynamic left side of their own in Brazilian sophomore Isabela Lima, a PACWEST all-rookie and conference championship tourney all-star selection last season.