The University of the Fraser Valley women's volleyball team fell a couple points short of completing an epic comeback, as they fell in five sets to the Calgary Dinos on Sunday in Kamloops.

Wrapping up their run at a preseason tournament hosted by Thompson Rivers University, the Cascades dropped the first two sets by scores of 25-21 and 25-16, but battled back to take the next two by matching 25-22 margins. The fifth came down to the wire, with the Dinos pulling off a 16-14 triumph.

The UFV squad concludes the weekend with a 2-1 record, with wins over MacEwan on Friday and Mount Royal on Saturday preceding the close loss to Calgary.

"Calgary is a historically strong volleyball program, so this was a good test, to play one of the older, bigger universities," Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema said. "Our goal was, every day this weekend, to get better. Even though this wasn't a win, we played even better than the two games we'd won previously. We're a better, more improved team from what we were on Friday.

"I felt like we definitely made some big improvements in our blocking and block defence game, and our hitters were a lot smarter with a variety of shots. Calgary is pretty difficult to play against, and on our van ride home, we went through our laundry list of things we know we can still improve on."

Outside hitters Amanda Matsui and Sadie Wilson continued to excel for the Cascades as they had throughout the weekend, and the UFV squad showcased its talent and depth as Kristen McBride stepped into the starting lineup. Setter Cailin Bitter had a strong performance vs. the Dinos, making great decisions in feeding her attackers while adding several setter-dump kills.

"In reflection of the weekend, it motivates us in two ways," Rozema summarized. "This was a test of how we measure up, and we showed we're in the mix and we deserve to be in this league. But it also showed us that there are still a lot of ways we can improve. Both of those things are motivating."