The University of the Fraser Valley women's volleyball team won a four-set decision over the Columbia Bible College Bearcats on Thursday night at CBC.
The CCAA No. 13-ranked Cascades started strong, winning the first two sets 25-13 and 25-15. The Bearcats grabbed the third 25-22 to extend the match, but UFV closed it out 25-22 in the fourth.
The Cascades improved to 13-10 with the victory, while the Bearcats fell to 1-22.
"We got everything we wanted here tonight," noted UFV head coach
Mike Gilray. "We got everybody in, and we are going to do the same thing tomorrow. We want to make sure that everyone is prepared to get on the court going forward (to the playoffs)."
The Cascades got off to a hot start, building an 8-3 lead in the first set, before extending it to 18-9 on their way to a 25-13 win. The second played out similarly, as UFV gained another 8-3 advantage early, and cruised to a 25-15 set victory.
UFV once again came out flying in the third as they manufactured a 6-0 lead off
Kara Williams's serve, but the Bearcats would fight back to level the score at 7-7. The teams would stay close throughout the set, but with the two teams level at 22-22, CBC would score the last three points to win it 25-22.
The fourth was once again tightly contested, but the Cascades edged out the hosts 25-22 to finish the match.
Kim Bauder posted a team-high 12 kills for UFV, while
Kristen McBride had 10. Defensively, four players reached double digits in digs:
Karissa Marazzi with 11, and Bauder, McBride and
Cassidy King each with 10 of their own.
The Cascades also posted 16 service aces in the match, led by
Kara Williams with five, with Bauder and
Keira Fisher each notching three.
Megan Polant had a team-high 12 kills and Julia Weiss posted 13 digs for the Bearcats.
The Cascades volleyball teams conclude the regular season on Friday against the Bearcats at the Envision Financial Athletic Centre (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m.). That game night will feature Senior Night festivities for graduating fifth-years Bauder of the women's squad and Adam Frederickson of the UFV men's team. The on-court ceremony will be held immediately after the women's game, prior to the men's warm-up.
"I think everyone is excited to celebrate Kim (Bauder), and we all want to show up for her and that's really the goal for us," Gilray explained. "We want to celebrate a great Cascade and everything she's done for us."
