The University of the Fraser Valley men's volleyball team came within a whisker of its first-ever Canada West victory, only to be denied in heartbreaking fashion by the Thompson Rivers WolfPack.
The Cascades took the first two sets onÂ
You Can Play / Pride night, only to watch the WolfPack slowly turn the momentum, ultimately prevailing in five (17-25, 23-25, 25-23, 25-20, 15-10).
UFV (0-8) and TRU (3-7) conclude their three-game weekend series on Sunday afternoon (3 p.m., UFV Athletic Centre).Â
"The only thing we talked about before the match today – due to the fact we don't have any rhythm because we haven't played in forever – was just to improve on yesterday," said Cascades head coach
Nathan Bennett, whose team dropped a three-set decision to TRU on Friday. "I think we accomplished that. I think we improved on yesterday.Â
"Obviously we've got to improve on finishing matches off. At the end of the day, we've been in this situation a few times and we have yet to learn that lesson. I'm hoping that lesson gets learned soon."
The hosts came out firing in the first set – UFV's
Nimo Benne had it going, racking up six kills on nine swings, and the Cascades collected five aces including two apiece from
Ryan Adams and
Noah Bouius and cruised to a 25-17 win.
The Cascades built a 20-16 lead in the second, but the WolfPack battled back with five straight points, with three of them coming via Anton Napolitano aces. UFV responded with four consecutive, with
Jonas Van Huizen scorching from the service line. TRU survived two set points before a service error delivered a 25-23 win for UFV.
The third set was characterized by epic rallies between service errors – the two teams combined for 17 miscues from the line, but when the ball was in play, the action was hotly contested. Tied 23-23, a kill by Samuel Elgert followed by a UFV error allowed TRU to extend the match.
The WolfPack, with their defence both relentless and rock-solid, raced out to a 12-6 lead in the fourth, thanks in large part to a spate of UFV attacking errors. The Cascades would close to within 21-19, but a couple more attacking errors and a Maxim Turgeon ace gave the set to the visitors, 25-20.Â
In the fifth, TRU gained some separation as Sam Flowerday and Turgeon notched back-to-back kills to make it 11-8, and they were able to finish it off from there.
Benne's 15 kills and 13 digs were both game highs,
Eduardo Ferreira had eight kills, and
Tyson Ardell had six kills. Van Huizen registered 36 assists and two aces.Â
The WolfPack didn't have a player in double-digit kills – their balanced attack saw Flowerday with eight kills, and Napolitano, Elgert, Thundersky Walkingbear, Riley Brinnen and Michael Svab had six apiece.Â
Post-game, Bennett said he sensed his squad was struggling to manage "self-made pressure."
"Every point seems to be worth more to these guys, when it's still just one point," he said. "Right now, we're a good team from the neck down. From the neck up, we have some work to do."
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