Brandon, MB – A five-kill second set from Brooklyn Brodner helped the UFV Cascades pick up a three-set victory over a resilient Brandon University Bobcats side on Friday. The U SPORTS No. 5 ranked Cascades won 25-22, 25-19 and 25-18 to move to 8-3 on the season, while the Bobcats are still searching for their first win this season at 0-11.

How it happened:
The Cascades jumped out to an 18-12 lead in the opener, but Brandon stormed back to pull within one at 19-18. This prompted a pair of Cascades substitutions, as Cailin Bitter and Natalie Lemoine-sells entered and made an instant impact to help the Cascades make it 23-18. After trading points, Gabrielle Attieh found the kill to end the set 25-22.

The teams continued to keep it close in the second as they found themselves even at 16. However, a quick Cascades run was capped off by Gabrielle Attieh finding a kill off the block to make it 22-17 for UFV. Brooklyn Brodner picked up two of her five second-set kills in quick succession to make it 24-18 for the Cascades, and Talia Attieh found the line to finish the set 25-19.

Lauren Attieh grabbed two early kills for the Cascades, but the resilient Bobcats came back to take a 7-6 lead in the third. With the score level at nine apiece, Talia Attieh found a kill to give UFV another lead, and then combined with Brodner for a big block to force a Brandon timeout at 12-9. A pair of aces from Gabrielle Attieh and a kill from Lauren Attieh helped increase the UFV advantage to 16-10. The Bobcats once again battled back to level the score at 18 after a pair of Ava Pearson aces, but Lemoine-Sells came up with an important kill and a much-needed side-out for the Cascades. A a six-serve run from Lauren Attieh and a block from Alicja Hardy-Francis closed out the match 25-18.

Top Performers:
Gabrielle Attieh led all players with 13 kills and added three service aces. Brodner had six kills and a .417 hitting percentage in the match, while Emily Matsui finished with a team-high 10 digs.

Avery Burgar led the way for the Bobcats with six kills, while Nerissa Dyer added five kills, and Megan Pickford had three aces.

Quotable:
UFV head coach Janelle Rozema

"I think the team engaged the game well despite thoughts bigger than volleyball. They kind of zoomed in on each other and were grateful to be together and be able to play together."

"We really needed to start scoring from our middles, so it was good timing for Brooklyn [Brodner] to connect with our setters. It's a testament to how deep our middle position is, and how close it is, and we're happy Brooklyn was able to step up tonight."

Up Next:
The two teams battle once again on Saturday to end the fall semester. Match time is set for 3p.m. PT on Canada West TV.