Abbotsford, BC – For the first time since joining Canada West in 2021, the UFV Cascades men's volleyball team came away with a weekend sweep, as they took down the MacEwan Griffins on Saturday evening at the UFV Athletic Centre.

The Cascades defeated the Griffins by scores of 25-18, 25-18, and 25-16 to capture their second straight three-set victory and improve to 3-3 on the season. Meanwhile, the loss drops MacEwan to 0-6 so far this year.

As it happened: 
The Griffins jumped out to a 6-2 advantage in the first, but UFV's hitters came alive and in the blink of an eye the Cascades led 18-11. The teams traded points through the remainder of the set, but that seven-point cushion was enough for UFV to secure the opener.

The Cascades continued to ramp up the pressure in the second, as they flew out to a 16-8 lead. MacEwan closed the gap to just four, before UFV once again extended it to seven to take it 25-18.

A five-serve run by Ryan Hampe at the start of the third gave the Cascades an 8-1 lead, but The Griffins fought to cut the lead to just four in the middle portion of the set. With the score at 18-14, the Cascades once again pulled away, scoring seven of the last nine points to take the victory.
 

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Top performers: 
The Cascades hitters seemed to be unstoppable on the night, as the team hit a combined .408 in the contest. Jonas Van Huizen led the match with 16 kills, while Nimo Benne posted 11. Caleb Kastelein added seven kills on 10 attacks with no errors. Defensively, Hampe paced the Cascades with eight blocks.

Mitchel Gorman had a team-high 10 kills and six digs for the Griffins, and Daniel Hebert also posted six digs.

Quotable:
Cascades middle Ryan Hampe

"Last weekend we felt that we probably should have had at least one, maybe two, and we beat ourselves up pretty hard for it. We weren't having the best of weeks, we had a bunch of illnesses and guys knicked with injuries but to come together all weekend and play the way we did, it felt awesome."

It's so much fun. The energy we had on the floor was contagious, and it started with the guys on the bench. To have that as a whole 22 player effort it was awesome, and those hitting numbers are all props to Silas [Van Huizen]. To come in his first weekend starting, he ran an incredible offence and gave everyone looks with one or no blocks. It's a fun weekend."

Up next:
The Cascades now head into a bye week, as they prepare for a trip to Calgary on November 17 and 18. Both matches can be seen live on Canada West TV.