The University of the Fraser Valley men's volleyball team fell in three sets to the Capilano Blues on Friday at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre.
Capilano improved to 4-3 in PACWEST play, prevailing by scores of 25-16, 25-23, 25-21, while the Cascades fell to 4-5.
The two teams renew hostilities on Saturday at Capilano (7 p.m., pacwestbc.tv).
"At the end of the day, when things don't come easy, good teams find a way to battle through that," UFV head coach
Nathan Bennett said afterward. "I think that's something we're learning – when it's early enough in a set that you can still build some momentum back and still build a fight within that set and get back in it. But that's by doing the right things. For us, we need to take a lesson from this game. Maybe they have to look back at the game plan and see where we can execute a little bit better.
"It's the things that don't show up on the scoresheet, things that the crowd doesn't see – where we're standing, what we're supposed to be blocking, what we're supposed to be executing. Unless Capilano does something completely different tomorrow, I expect pretty much the same style of game from them, and I think if we do a better job executing our jobs, it'll be a better match."
Capilano came out flying, establishing a 10-5 lead in the opening set, thanks in part to the Cascades missing their first four serves of the night. The visitors would extend the margin to 18-8 off of some strong team hitting. The Cascades battled back, scoring six of the next seven points, but that was as close as they would get as the Blues went on to take it 25-16.
UFV setter
Graham Walkey racked up consecutive aces early in the second, helping the Cascades build a 6-2 lead. The Blues fought back to even the score at 11, with Rafael Hilario picking up two kills in that stretch. The teams traded points in the middle portion of the set, with the Cascades edging ahead 21-20 with three straight points including back-to-back
Landon Uy kills. However, the Blues would secure three consecutive points of their own to regain the lead 23-21, before closing it out 25-23 on an Enis Besirevic kill.
Capilano surged ahead in the middle stages of the third, grabbing a 15-10 lead and extending it to 19-12. The Cascades made a push late, cutting the deficit to 19-17 with
Josh Willems serving and
Justin Peleshytyk posting an important kill, but it would not be enough as the Blues wrapped up the match with a 25-21 set victory.
Uy's 13 kills were a game-high, and UFV middle
Jackson Obst had four kills on seven swings.
Hilario paced the Blues with 10 kills, and former Cascades
Graeme Hughes (six kills) and
Ben Friesen (four kills) – playing their first games at the EFAC as visitors – also chipped in offensively.
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