Edmonton, AB – Just like the previous night, the U SPORTS No. 5 ranked UFV Cascades jumped out to big leads early in each set on their way to a 3-0 (25-12, 25-17, 25-19) victory over the MacEwan Griffins on Saturday.  

As it happened:
The Cascades came out of the gate hot, quickly building a 20-9 lead in the first, before closing it out 25-12.

It was a similar story to start the second, as UFV went up 15-5. The Griffins fought to get back within five at 22-17, but three straight points from the Cascades closed out the set.

The Cascades picked up a 10-4 advantage in the third, but the Griffins managed to come one point shy of levelling it at 12-11. UFV once again pulled away 20-14. From there the teams traded runs with the Cascades finishing off the match 25-19.

Top performers:
Emily Matsui had a great game for the Cascades defensively. The libero posted 17 digs as she continues her excellent campaign that currently has her sitting second in Canada West in both total digs and digs per set.

Gabrielle Attieh had another fantastic performance for UFV as she notched 10 kills, 12 digs, and five aces in the win.

Mariah Bereziuk led the Griffins with eight kills and five digs, while Megan Foxcroft recorded 13 digs in the loss.

Quotable:
Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema

"Emily [Matsui] played a very solid match defensively for us, and Lauren Attieh was very solid offensively. Our middles Mo [Likness] and Alicja [Hardy-Francis] did an excellent job at their block assignments and game plan."

"I am very proud of the foundation that we are working hard to establish here, but I think it's important we don't get ahead of ourselves, and we stay on each task."

Where they sit:

The Cascades picked up their seventh straight victory, and made it 11 wins in their last 12 to improve to 11-5 on the year. Meanwhile, the Griffins fall to 2-14 this season.

The Cascades are back in action next Friday and Saturday as they head to Kamloops to take on the TRU WolfPack.