The University of the Fraser Valley men's volleyball team battled through a litany of injuries to earn an impressive win over the College of the Rockies Avalanche on Saturday evening.
The Cascades were missing the top three middles on the depth chart –
Ian Jagersma,
Jackson Obst and
Andy Barrero – due to injury and/or illness, yet managed to come together for a strong performance and win in three sets (25-23, 25-23, 25-18).
Third-year
Dylan Neudorf and rookie
Tanner Geringer stepped into void in the middle and did their part, and right side
Landon Uy (17 kills, four service aces) had a monster night to power the Cascades.
UFV (3-2) and COTR (1-4) meet again on Sunday (1 p.m.) at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
"I told them at the beginning of the game – with a little adversity comes opportunity," Cascades head coach
Nathan Bennett said. "The guys that were out there, they took that opportunity and did really well. And I think what else happened is, everybody who had been a starter this season so far, they raised their level. They understood the situation and raised their level for the match tonight, and I commend them. They did a great job."
A tightly contested opening set saw the Cascades overcome a 23-22 Avalanche lead, with Geringer providing the winning point on a block.
Multiple contentious calls at the end of the second provided some drama, but the Cascades managed to edge out the visitors 25-23 with timely kills from Uy and
Caleb Kastelein.
The Avalanche built a 17-15 lead in the third set, but Uy absolutely took over at that point, sparking the Cascades on a game-ending 10-1 run. The Prince George, B.C. product hammered down four kills during that stretch, and served for the last five points, highlighted by back-to-back aces.
Left sides Kastelein (nine kills) and
Justin Peleshytyk (eight kills) also had big nights for the Cascades, and Neudorf chipped in with six kills. Setter
Graham Walkey posted 35 assists to go with three aces.
COTR's Gustavo Bertoli and Caleb Peters tied for team-high honours with 11 kills apiece.
"At the end of the day, we're catching a COTR team that's a little road-weary," Bennett said, noting that it was the Avalanche's third game in three days, having played the CBC Bearcats Thursday and Friday. "It's a tough schedule, but we've got to take the opportunities when they come."
Bennett lauded the versatility of Geringer and Neudorf.
"Tanner played as a middle in high school so he has the ability to understand the position, but at this level, he's a little bit undersized (at 6'0")," he said. "Dylan was a middle last year, but I thought this year he'd better served as an outside hitter, so he's spent the majority of the year on the outside.
"These guys are Swiss Army knives. They can play any position, and that, with the lack of numbers on our team . . . is very helpful."
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