The University of the Fraser Valley men's volleyball team emerged from opening weekend on the wrong end of a sweep, as the UBC Okanagan Heat topped them in three sets on Saturday evening in Kelowna.
The Cascades had shown flashes of their collective potential in Friday's Canada West conference debut,
pushing the Heat to five sets, but were unable to muster the same type of moxie in the rematch. Set scores were 25-16, 25-19 and 25-20.
The UFV squad (0-2) is back in action on the road next weekend, facing the UBC Thunderbirds in a Friday-Saturday set.
"We have to learn how to manage frustration, and we have to learn how to manage this league," Cascades head coach
Nathan Bennett said in the aftermath of Saturday's result. "And we have to learn how to leave points behind. When a point against us happens, we have to focus on the next one.
"It's a lot of learning – this whole term, that's what we're working on. We're trying to get better every day, and maybe we took a step back today, but that's OK. Next week we'll go back to the drawing board and get better. Hopefully for UBC's home opener in Vancouver, we're back ready to perform."
After the Heat controlled the first set, the Cascades made a strong push in the second, battling back from a modest deficit to tie it up 16-16 after a
Caleb Kastelein kill. The Heat, though, reeled off four straight points – including a kill and a block from right side Noah Carlson – to regain control, and they cruised from there.
In the third set, the Cascades built a 9-5 lead, with
Nimo Benne serving for four straight points and
Eduardo Ferreira notching back-to-back kills. But a series of UFV errors allowed the Heat to surge to a 12-11 edge, and they pulled away as their offence began to click down the stretch.
Benne's eight kills and seven digs paced the Cascades, Ferreira finished with seven kills, and
Ryan Adams had six. Setter
Jonas Van Huizen registered 20 assists.
Carlson had a huge night for the Heat, racking up 16 kills and hitting .481. UBCO racked up 28 blocks on the night to the Cascades' 12.
"Our team needs to learn who we are, needs to learn how to be a team," Bennett analyzed. "Going through these wars and these disappointments, going through all this stuff, will help us be a team down the road."
Â
