The University of the Fraser Valley men's volleyball team alternated moments of uncertainty with moments of confidence on Friday evening, ultimately dropping a five-set exhibition decision to the UBC Thunderbirds at the UFV Athletic Centre.

The Cascades were tentative early, as the T-Birds claimed the first two sets by scores of 25-18 and 25-20. But they were able to grind out a 26-24 decision in the third and took the fourth 25-19 against their perennial powerhouse opponent, before struggling in the fifth set and falling 15-5.

In action earlier in the day at the Cascades' preseason tournament, the Brandon Bobcats topped the MacEwan Griffins, also in five sets (25-17, 21-25, 25-15, 23-25, 15-10).

The event wraps up on Saturday at the UFV Athletic Centre, with UBC taking on MacEwan at 12 p.m., Brandon facing UBC at 6 p.m., and the host Cascades clashing with the Griffins at 8 p.m.

"I think tonight was a story of Jekyll and Hyde," UFV head coach Nathan Bennett said afterward, analyzing his team's ups and downs.

"I think we were nervous to play the UBC Thunderbirds for the first time, and it showed in the first and second set. We got a little bit more comfortable in the third and gutted out a set win, which was great, and it kind of relieved some of the self-made pressure from our own guys. They played a little bit more free in the fourth and were able to play really well.

"We were able to push it to the fifth, and I think right now, our program needs to learn how to win. We were a bit nervous when it came to the fifth, because we were that much closer to a victory. That part there, it's going to take some experience to beat a good team."

Caleb Kastelein had a big game for the Cascades, hammering down a game-high 12 kills and hitting .304. Nimo Benne added 10 kills, Noah Bouius had four kills and two blocks, and Jonas Van Huizen notched 26 set assists to go with two service aces.

Coltyn Liu, Zarley Zalusky and Michael Dowhaniuk paced the T-Birds offensively with 10 kills apiece, and Cole Brandsma chipped in with nine.

"For us, it was a great journey for us to go on, and we learned a lot," Bennett summarized. "We're looking forward to taking what we learned tonight into tomorrow, wrapping up this tournament and putting this in our pocket for when the regular season starts."