Brandon, MB – The UFV Cascades battled all night, but in the end it was the Brandon Bobcats coming away with the victory for the second consecutive night, 25-19, 25-21, 17-25, 25-22.

The Cascades drop to 4-8 with the result, while Brandon improves to 8-4 this season.

How it happened:
After a wild five-setter the night before, the two teams came out flying again in the first. Both teams traded blows all the way to find themselves level at 16. The Bobcats found a pair of points to gain a slight advantage, and Brandon finished off the opener on a Philip Lauter ace.

Brandon raced out to a 9-4 lead early in the second, but the Cascades worked to cut the deficit down to just one at 15-14. A pair of kills by Liam Kindle helped re-establish the five-point Bobcat lead at 20-15, before fending off another late push by UFV to take it 25-21.

UFV bounced back to grab a 5-1 lead in the third, before a kill from Nimo Benne made it 8-2 for the visitors. A kill from Tyson Ardell and an ace from Caleb Kastelein increased their lead to 12-4 and the Cascades cruised from there ending it 25-17.

Three early blocks by Lauter nabbed the Bobcats a 7-4 lead in the fourth, but strong play by the Cascades middles Tyson Ardell and Ryan Hampe helped keep the score close through the middle of the set, and an ace from Nimo Benne pulled the Cascades back to 23-21. However, that was as close as they would get as Brandon held on for the win.

Top Performers:
Nimo Benne posted team-highs in kills (12) and aces (2), while adding two blocks and five digs in the match for the Cascades. Caleb Kastelein chipped in with seven kills and six digs, while Tyson Ardell had eight kills.

Liam Kindle had a match-high 16 kills to go with two aces and five blocks for Brandon. Philipp Lauter three aces and eight blocks, and Jens Watt had nine kills and seven digs for the hosts.

Quotable:
UFV head coach Nathan Bennett

"I commend the boys for putting everything on the line after a very difficult time, and I think at the end we ran out of energy before they did. They were a bit fresher than us, and we're bandaided up, but we did our best and showed a lot of moxie. The guys competed hard and that's what we are about – not giving up and competing for every point – they did that, but I think Brandon was just a bit better in their execution. "

"This break is coming at a good time – every match in Canada West you have to be your best and if you aren't at your best, you aren't going to win. We came in at not quite our optimal health, and did the best we could, but this wasn't our best. We have the ability to play our best down the road and we're looking ahead to hosting Winnipeg in January."

Up Next:
The Cascades now enter the mid-season break, with their next action coming against the University of Winnipeg Wesmen on January 12 and 13.