CALGARY – In an instant classic that featured two high-powered Canada West teams, the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades outlasted the University of Calgary Dinos on Friday evening in the Jack Simpson Gym.

Fraser Valley claimed the first two sets, only to see the Dinos roar back to take it to five, before the Cascades found a way to grind it out in the fifth, 26-24, 25-15, 23-25, 23-25, 16-14.

Both teams came out ready to go right from the start. Neither team was able to create any separation, with things knotted up at 24-24. But a kill by J. Van Huizen and a Cascades block was all that was needed to give UFV the first set.

The second proved to be the outlier of the night. Fraser Valley jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead and never looked back to cruise to the 2-0 advantage.

UFV created a 16-10 edge midway through the third and it looked like it might be a short night inside The Jack. The Dinos showed their fight, however, rattling off a 9-1 run to take the lead and never look back to get back into this one.

Things were once again incredibly tight in the fourth, with neither team able to claim a notable edge. Tied up at 22-all after an epic defensive moment Austin Ellchuk, Calgary found a way and finished things off on a block by Tyler Funk and Jackson Meier to send this one to a fifth set.

Calgary jumped out to a 7-4 lead, only to have Fraser Valley bounce right back and go ahead 8-7. A UFV service error gave the Dinos set point, but the Cascades responded with a triple block by Tyson Ardell, Kastelein and Benne to cap a 3-0 run and win the first game of the weekend series in memorable fashion.

UFV finished the night hitting .386 as a team – including a .600 performance (14-2-20) in the second set – while the Dinos attack hit .270 for the night.

Calgary now drops to 4-3 on the season, with all three losses coming in five sets. Meanwhile, the win is the third in a row for the Cascades, who improve to 4-3 on the young season.

UFV head coach Nathan Bennett noted after the game that despite the missed opportunities to close out the match in earlier sets, it was good for the squad to close it out in the fifth since the team struggled in fifth sets last season.

"At the end of the day, it's good to have shown resiliency, and we're glad to have won the game. It's one of our Achilles heels from last season, but we've broken through this year which is great."

Bennett noted that the win was a full team effort on Friday.

"There is nobody that I can pick out as one guy that was really good. It was a full team effort tonight. Now we rest up, recover, and take the lessons that we learned tonight and apply them tomorrow."

Jonas Van Huizen led the way for the Cascades with 26 kills while hitting .400 for the match to go with 11 digs. Nimo Benne added 16 kills, while Caleb Kastelein (12) and Ryan Hampe (10) both also finished the night with double-digit kills. Silas Van Huizen guided the UFV attack with 51 assists in the win.

Louis Kunstmann had a career-high 26 kills to lead the Dinos, while Erik Godwin added another 15 to go with three aces. Zack Durrant also dished out 48 assists for the Scarlet & Gold.

Saturday's rematch is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT, once again from the Jack Simpson Gym.