Abbotsford, BC - Max Paddock made his first start at setter, helping the UFV Cascades get off to a great start on Friday, but in the end, it was the Mount Royal Cougars who came out on top in a four-set contest. The Cascades came out flying to take the opening set 25-15, but MRU stormed back to take the next three sets 25-17, 25-16, and 25-21 to close out the match.

The win sees the Cougars improve to 6-3 on the year, while the Cascades drop to 2-7 this season.

The Cascades jumped out to a 10-3 lead early in the first, and Nimo Benne's six kills and two aces in the set helped them cruise to the 25-15 set win.

The teams traded blows early in the second, but with the score even at 13 MRU grabbed control. Two kills from Max Haronga and an ace from Luis Lange helped them notch six of the next seven points to give them a 19-14 advantage before taking the set 25-17.

The Cougars found an extra gear again in the middle of the third. They held a 14-12 lead but scored seven of the next eight points to take an eight-point lead in the set before finishing it off 25-16.

Both teams fought to get the upper hand in the fourth, but it was MRU who came out on top scoring five of the final seven points in the match to clinch the decisive set 25-21.

Benne led the Cascades offensively with 17  kills and three aces, while Paddock finished the match with 32 set assists and nine digs.

"We started making a few too many mistakes giving them the ball and giving them a chance to have a good attack at us," noted Paddock after the game, "but they make their errors too, so we have to capitalize on that and keep the pressure on them."

The two teams face off once again on Saturday with the first serve set to go at 5 p.m. at the UFV Athletic Centre. You can also catch all the action live on Canada West TV.