The University of the Fraser Valley women's volleyball team was pushed to the limit, but came out on top in an epic five-set playoff match against the College of the Rockies Avalanche on Thursday afternoon in New Westminster.Â
The Cascades, seeded No. 4 at the PACWEST championship tournament hosted by Douglas College, topped the No. 5 Avalanche by scores of 12-25, 25-19, 25-15, 17-25, 15-11. The UFV squad advances to the semifinals on Friday, where they'll face the top-seeded VIU Mariners (5:30 p.m., Douglas College,Â
pacwestbc.tv).
"The first set was a little bit of playoff nerves, but we found a way to settle ourselves down," UFV head coach
Janelle Rozema said afterward. "In the second set, we really started defending whereas in the first set we had trouble with that, and that really added to our game.
"We also had some key players who really stepped up today. I thought (left sides)
Kristen McBride and
Amanda Matsui had big matches, which was a big difference from the last time we played COTR."
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The Cascades looked to start well, securing an ace by
Kara Williams on the opening point of the match, but the Avalanche struck back, developing a 17-10 lead. COTR would make no mistake from there, picking up eight of the final 10 points to take it 25-12. The Avalanche were strong at the net, racking up six blocks in the set.Â
COTR attempted to build on that momentum in the second, jumping out to a 4-1 lead, but UFV would even it at 4-4 following kills by
Sedona Arabsky and
Chelsea Kidd. The teams traded blows to 7-7, but the Cascades rattled off four straight points to make it 11-7. UFV extended its lead through the middle portion of the set, and went on to close it out 25-19.Â
The Cascades worked their way to a 14-10 lead in the third, and a block by Kidd and an ace by Matsui would help them extend it to 18-10. The teams exchanged points in the latter stages, and a Matsui kill would eventually seal it, 25-15 for UFV.Â
The teams found themselves level at 7-7 in the fourth, but the Avalanche snagged the next four points with Claire Sheppard at the service line to go up 11-7. COTR stepped on the gas from there, extending the lead to 24-13. UFV would pull four points back, but the Avalanche finished it out 25-17.Â
The Cascades came out flying in the fifth, picking up a Matsui kill and a Williams ace on the way to a 3-0 advantage. Kills by Sheppard and Whittall helped COTR cut the deficit to 6-5, and after a pair of side-outs, a Katie Friesen ace drew them level on 7-7. The Cascades re-established their three-point lead, 10-7, after a kill by Matsui and a massive block from
Alysha Cooper that brought the crowd to its feet. The Cascades' Williams and Avalanche's Mariah Prust traded aces to make it 12-10. With the score 13-11, McBride secured a block, and Cooper's next serve proved to be too much to handle as the Cascades closed it out 15-11.Â
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Matsui had a monster game for the Cascades, notching a team-high 14 kills and five aces on her way to player of the game honours. Kidd knocked down 13 kills, while Williams added 35 set assists and three aces to the effort.Â
Whittall was the Avalanche's player of the game after posting a game-high 17 kills. Kate Arabadji added 12 kills, and Sheppard notched 10.Â
The Cascades' challenge in the next round is significant – VIU is the two-time reigning CCAA national champion, and they posted a perfect 24-0 record in conference play this season.Â
"There's no hiding that we have a really tough opponent ahead of us tomorrow," Rozema noted. "But our focus is, it doesn't matter who the opponent is – you have to take care of your own side. Whether we're playing the worst team in the league or the best, we just have to execute on our side."
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