WBB: Early leads pay off as Cascades cruise past Griffins

Edmonton, AB – The UFV Cascades jumped on the MacEwan Griffins early in every set, as the U SPORTS No. 5 ranked team got past their hosts in three sets (25-12, 25-21, 25-23).

As it happened:
Cascades middle Zoe Arca started the match with a seven-point service run that included three aces to put her team up 7-0. Moments later Lauren Attieh picked up four kills in the span of five points to help increase the lead to 16-5, and the Cascades cruised to an opening set win 25-12.

It was a similar story in the second, as three early aces from Cailin Bitter gave the Cascades an 8-2 lead. The Griffins got back within one at 8-7, but UFV continued to put on the pressure making it 21-14 before closing out the set 25-21.

UFV took a 7-4 lead in the third, but the Griffins stormed back to take a 14-10 lead. MacEwan led 20-18 late, but the Cascades were not going to be stopped as they scored seven of the next 10 points to end the match 25-23.

Top performers:
Emily Matsui had a game-high 14 digs to lead the Cascades defensively. On the offensive side, Lauren Attieh had a team leading 15 kills to go with 10 digs, and Gabrielle Attieh added 12 kills and 10 digs. Cailin Bitter posted 24 assists to go with her three aces and five digs in the match.

Mariah Bereziuk posted a team-high 14 kills and 11 digs for the Griffins, while teammate Emma Brooks notched nine kills in the effort.

Quotable:
Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema
"We played a really clean execution game tonight. Cailin [Bitter] and Kinna [Fisher] moved the ball around really well using all our offensive threats."

"Mo [Likness] was out for health reasons tonight, and Zoe Arca really stepped up to the challenge. She started the match with some tough serves and got some really good blocks at key times."

Where they sit:
With the win the Cascades extend their win streak to six matches and have now won 10 of their last 11 to improve their season record to 10-5.

Meanwhile, the loss sees the Griffins fall to 2-13 on the season.

The two teams face each other once again on Saturday in Edmonton. First serve is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. (PT), and the game can be streamed live on Canada West TV.