The University of the Fraser Valley men's volleyball team concluded its Canada West regular-season schedule with a three-set loss at the hands of the UBC Okanagan Heat on Monday afternoon.
The Heat prevailed by scores of 25-19, 25-22, 25-19 to level their record at 7-7, dropping the Cascades – coming offÂ
their first-ever conference win on Sunday – to 1-15.
Now, the Cascades await their playoff fate, as they're currently tied with the MacEwan Griffins for the final CW wild-card playoff berth. The Griffins have two games remaining next weekend vs. the Calgary Dinos – if they're able to win either of those, they'd be playoff bound and the Cascades would be out. If the Dinos sweep, the Cascades would be in based on the sets won/lost tiebreaker.
Nimo Benne, the Cascades' star outside hitter, was sidelined on Monday, but head coach
Nathan Bennett noted it was an opportunity for others to step up and raise their level.
"The opportunity was there, and we're still waiting for them to do that," he said. "In this league, it's not every other point or every five points that you have to be on – it's every moment. You have to know your job and execute your job at every single moment of every match.Â
"And then you go behind that and you'll say, you have to be ready to practice at your best level every single day. You talk about nutrition, recovery and sleep – and taking care of your own personal lives and your academic lives. It's 24/7, being a high-level athlete. If we don't figure that out, it's going to be a real tough run."
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In the first set, the Cascades faced a modest deficit early but got back to within 17-16 after back-to-back
Noah Bouius blocks. The Heat, though, scored the next four points, highlighted by a kill and an ace from Maxwell Heppell, and they cruised from there, taking it 25-19. UBCO hit .345 in the first, compared to UFV's .033.
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The first three points of the second set went to UBCO – via Cascade errors – and they maintained a multi-point margin the rest of the way. UFV made a late push with
Ryan Adams at the service line and
Caleb Kastelein swinging effectively on the left, staving off three set points before succumbing 25-22.Â
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The Cascades opened a 7-4 lead to start the third, but the Heat quickly equalized, and they gained some separation up 17-14 after back-to-back aces from Keatan Mann. The visitors would pull away down the stretch to close out the match.Â
Kastelein posted a game-high 13 kills, and
Eduardo Ferreira and
Ryan Adams had five kills apiece, with Ferreira adding a team-high 10 digs.
The Heat excelled at the net, registering 10 blocks in the match, led by Teo Ardanaz with six block assists. Cameron Vanderveen paced the UBCO offence with 10 kills, and Heppell had nine. Â
"They (UBCO) did change their defensive structure – they closed the line on us, which is great, good for them," Bennett noted. "But we weren't making smart shots – high off the block or in the seam. We just closed our eyes and hope, and when you do that, you'll be picking it out of your laces."
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