Abbotsford, BC – The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades dropped a three-set decision (23-25, 20-25, 22-25) to the University of Manitoba Bisons on Friday at the UFV Athletic Centre.

The loss drops the Cascades to 1-2 on the season, while the Bisons move to 1-0 to start the year.

As it happened: 
The teams traded blows early in the first before finding themselves all square at 14. Three kills from Jordon Heppner helped the Bisons gain a 20-16 advantage, and despite pulling it back to 24-23 after four kills from Nimo Benne, Manitoba closed it out on their fourth set point 25-23.

Both teams continued trading runs in the second, but with the score locked at 18 apiece, three consecutive aces from Jonah Dueck gave the Bisons a lead they would not relinquish, finishing the set 25-20.

UFV jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third powered by three Jonas Van Huizen kills, but the Bisons would fight back to level the score at 16. The teams would stay close, but three straight Manitoba points would end the match, 25-22.

Top performers: 
Jonas Van Huizen scored a match-high 18 kills, while notching a .438 hitting percentage, to lead the Cascades. Benne added 10 kills, and Easton Sarich finished with seven in the game.

Spencer Grahame paced the Bisons with 10 kills, while Eric Ogaranko and Nicoles Carter each ended the match with nine.

Quotable:
Cascades head coach Nathan Bennett

"We ran into a quality team. Manitoba is well coached, and they make you earn every inch out there. They didn't make a lot of mistakes, and they attack the ball well. For us, we're trying to figure out who we are as a team. Our potential is high, and when we decide to reach that it's going to be interesting for our group."

"We're not going to reach our potential tomorrow. This isn't going to be something where we wake up the next day and it's going to be over. This will be a journey for our group. We have the pieces to play at the top level in this league, it's just a matter of when we decide to show up."

Up next:
The Cascades and Bisons clash once again on Saturday, with the first serve scheduled for 5 p.m. at the UFV athletics Centre. Tickets can be purchased online at gocascades.ca/tickets, and the game can also be seen live on canadawest.tv.