The Trinity Western Spartans' relentless pressure from the service line was the difference on Thursday as they defeated the University of the Fraser Valley women's volleyball team in three straight sets.
The U SPORTS No. 1-ranked Spartans registered nine aces on the night, hampering the Cascades' efforts to sustain momentum offensively.
UFV (5-8) and TWU (12-1) complete their home-and-home series on Friday at the Langley Events Centre (6 p.m., CanadaWest.tv presented by Co-op).
"They served really tough, and we made a lot of unforced errors," Cascades head coach
Janelle Rozema said afterward. "It's really high-level volleyball, and for a young team like this, we're learning how to play that high-level volleyball for longer. We call it 'excellence endurance.' That's what we're working on.
"Offensively, Trinity just has a lot of threats. You can only dig for so long. Our attackers have to start putting balls away, and we lacked that tonight.
"But I think it's a great learning experience for us, and we keep talking about how we want to be in these matches. We'll never develop that excellence endurance if we're not playing these teams."
The Cascades went toe-to-toe with the Spartans off the start – they were level at 10-10 in the first set after back-to-back kills from
Amanda Matsui. TWU, though, was much sharper late in the set, and their serving cranked up the pressure on UFV. The visitors scored nine of the last 10 points, with Mikayla Benterud and Olivia Heinen at the service line, to take it 25-16.
Savannah Purdy took over the match at the service line to open the second – she reeled off three aces in quick succession and had the Cascades in all kinds of trouble as TWU built an 8-1 lead. They cruised from there, winning 25-12.
The Spartans surged ahead early in the third set before
Sadie Wilson caught fire for the Cascades. The senior right side notched two blocks and a kill to draw her team back to within 16-13, but another Benterud service run – highlighted by a pair of aces – allowed the TWU to pull away once again and take it 25-16.
Amanda Matsui finished with eight kills for the Cascades, Wilson had six, and
Emily Matsui notched a game-high 15 digs.
Avery Heppell paced the TWU attack with 10 kills, and Benterud (four aces) and Purdy (three aces) led the service-line assault.
IN BRIEF:
• The Cascades celebrated senior libero
Stephanie Demeules and 2021 graduate
Kara Williams in a pregame Senior Night ceremony. The women's volleyball squad will host a second round of senior festivities on Sunday, as they honour
Amanda Matsui and
Sadie Wilson prior to a 6 p.m. start vs. the UBC Okanagan Heat at the UFV Athletic Centre.
