A slow start proved costly for the University of the Fraser Valley men's volleyball team on Friday evening, as they dropped a four-set decision to the Camosun Chargers in Victoria.

The Chargers dominated the first two sets, winning by scores of 25-12 and 25-13. The Cascades found their form at that point, taking the third set 25-22 and pushing the hosts in the fourth, but Camosun closed them out 25-20.

The Chargers (11-7) and Cascades (5-13) complete the weekend series Saturday afternoon (3 p.m., pacwestbc.tv).

"I'm really happy with the way the guys battled back after a poor start," UFV bench boss Nathan Bennett said afterward. "Camosun served really tough early, and we just weren't ready. We weren't prepared to be in the fight from the start. But our battle level improved as the match wore on. Our intensity level went up, our will to score improved, and our level of compete was much higher."

Camosun's Elvind Hettervik set the tone in the first set, serving for eight straight points to open the match, and the hosts cruised from there.

In the second set, the Chargers pulled away in the middle stages, and Vitor Pereira finished the set with three straight service aces.

UFV was much sharper in the third. Back-to-back Justin Peleshytyk kills staked the visitors to a 17-12 lead, and Caleb Kastelein was dominant in the late stages, accounting for the Cascades' last five points of the set on kills.

The Cascades hung tough in the fourth – they were level at 20-20, but five of the last six points went the Chargers' way, thus ending the match.

Rookie left side Kastelein had an outstanding performance for UFV, pounding down a game-high 16 kills on 29 swings for a .379 hitting percentage. Peleshytyk and Landon Uy registered eight kills apiece, and Uy's eight digs were a team-high. Setter Graham Walkey posted 38 assists.

Eduardo Bida (12 kills) and Pereira (10 kills) were the offensive leaders for the Chargers, who racked up 11 service aces on the night.