The University of the Fraser Valley women's volleyball team suffered an upset loss on Saturday evening, falling in three sets to the Capilano Blues on the road.

The CCAA No. 9-ranked Cascades had earned a four-set victory on Friday in North Vancouver, but the Blues bounced back to split the weekend set by scores of 25-18, 25-23 and 25-23.
UFV fell to 12-8, while Capilano improved to 6-14.

"We gifted them 39 of their 75 points," Cascades head coach Mike Gilray analyzed. "You can't make 22 hitting errors and 17 service errors and expect to win in this league."

The Cascades, missing starters Amanda Matsui and Hanna Hieltjes due to injury, battled the Blues down to the wire in the second and third sets, only to come up short by the minimum two-point margin both times. Gilray made liberal use of his bench, as 11 of 12 Cascades dressed on Saturday saw the floor.

Fifth-year captain Kim Bauder had a strong performance, notching nine kills, and Keira Fisher had an efficient night on the right side with seven kills while hitting 43 per cent. Among the players who came in off the bench, libero Cassidy King gave the Cascades a spark in the third set.

Meghan Koven, with seven kills, and Zoe Mydansky, with six, paced a balanced Capilano attack.

"We were well-prepared – we knew what they were going to do, but we didn't execute on our side of the court," Gilray said. "That's on me. I've got to help them be successful during the game."

Up next for the Cascades volleyball teams is a home-and-home with the Douglas Royals. On Thursday, they host the Royals in the Envision Financial Athletic Centre's North Gym, and on Friday the scene shifts to Douglas's campus in New Westminster (women 6 p.m., men 8 p.m. both nights).