The Capilano Blues sent the University of the Fraser Valley women's volleyball team into the semester break on a losing note, knocking off the Cascades in three sets on Friday evening in North Vancouver.

The Blues boosted their record to 4-9 at the expense of the CCAA No. 7-ranked Cascades (7-6), prevailing by scores of 25-20, 25-23 and 26-24.

It marked the last game action of the 2019 calendar year for the Cascades, who return Jan. 3 with a home game vs. the Douglas Royals.

"They're really good defensively," UFV head coach Janelle Rozema said of the Blues, who have beaten the Cascades in each of their matches in North Van this season, the previous defeat coming back on Nov. 9. "They did a good job digging the ball and turning it around into strong offence back at us.

"We were too tentative. We're trying to figure out how to compete. That'll be what we're working on – our level of compete in games and in practice."

The Blues set the tone early, racing out to a 10-2 lead in the first set with Eva Nagata and Meghan Koven picking up two kills apiece during that stretch. The Cascades would trail by as many as 12 points (17-5) but mounted a rally to cut the deficit to 23-20 before finally running out of gas. Chelsea Kidd had a four-point service run during the comeback effort, with Kristen McBride registering four kills.

The Cascades appeared to be in control at various junctures in the second set, leading 14-10 and 20-16. But the Blues battled all the way back, going on an 8-2 run highlighted by a trio of Nagata kills and closing out the set on a Kelsey Towers block.

Capilano pulled ahead by three points midway through the second set, and while the Cascades would get back to within 23-22, the Blues would claw out the 26-24 win to seal the match.
McBride and Amanda Matsui posted seven kills apiece for the Cascades, and Chelsea Kidd and Sedona Arabsky had four each. Cassidy King's eight digs were a team-high.

Nagata (13 kills) and Koven (12) were the top offensive performers for the Blues.