Abbotsford, BC – Jonas Van Huizen set a career high with 24 kills, and Ryan Hampe posted a career best nine blocks, but the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades came up just short in five sets to the University of Manitoba Bisons on Saturday at the UFV Athletic Centre.

The Bisons prevailed with set scores of 25-27, 25-18, 17-25, 27-25, and 15-8 to move to 2-0 on the season, while UFV drops to 1-3 so far.

As it happened: 
The teams traded blows all throughout the opening set to find themselves tied at 25, but it was Jonas Van Huizen that came up big with back-to-back kills to cinch it for UFV.

With the score at 15 apiece in the second, Manitoba pulled away. A kill and two blocks by Ben Carleton helped the Bisons take a 20-15 lead, before taking it 25-18.

The Bisons jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the third before three straight Nimo Benne kills pulled the Cascades level.  Blocking took over late in the set, as the Cascades picked up six consecutive blocks including four straight from Hampe to help them seal the frame.

Neither team could gain much of an edge in the fourth, but with the set squared up at 25 apiece Manitoba got kills from Jordon Heppner and Spencer Grahame to take it 27-25.

The Bisons pulled away in the final set, as the Cascades ran out of gas. Manitoba jumped out to a 6-3 lead, before stretching it to 10-5 and eventually closing out the match 15-8.

Top performers: 
Jonas Van Huizen's career high 24 kills led the match, as he added two aces and six digs for UFV. Hampe's nine blocks were also a match-high, as he pitched in seven kills in the effort.

Eric Ogaranko led the Manitoba squad with 17 kills and two aces, while teammate Sammy Ludwig had 48 assists in the match.  

Quotable:
Cascades assistant coach Derek Meeuwisse

"It's hard to think that way after a loss, but in retrospect there were a lot of positives that we can take from tonight. The effort was a lot better today, and hopefully that is something we can continue to build on.

"We really focused on our blocking, so it was cool to see some of that come through tonight. It's something we can keep working at. Now we have to reset and start prepping for a pair of matches next week against MacEwan."

Up next:
The Cascades host the MacEwan Griffins next Friday and Saturday 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.  

Manitoba, meanwhile, gets set to head to Brandon for a pair of matches with the Bobcats.