Abbotsford, BC – The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades saw their 10-game win streak snapped on Saturday as they fell in five sets (20-25, 25-19, 25-22, 19-25, 10-15) to the UBC Okanagan Heat.

The Heat started the match strong, building a 20-14 o their way to take the opening set. The Cascades hit back in the second, jumping out to leads of 9-4 and 16-11 before closing it out.

The teams traded blows in the third set, but with the Heat leading 22-20 UFV got three kills from Mo Likness and two from Gabrielle Attieh to finish it off.

A 10-4 run in the mid portion of the fourth gave UBCO a 21-15 advantage on their way to force a fifth set.

The Heat secured six straight points early in the fifth to take a 9-3 lead. Despite a late push from the Cascades, UBCO knocked down the final three points of the match to end it 15-10.

Top performers
Cascades captain Gabrielle Attieh led the hosts offensively with a game-high 18 kills to go with three aces. Lauren Attieh picked up 15 kills and 18 digs, while Mo Likness added 12 kills and four blocks in the effort.

Jade Bussard paced the Heat, knocking down a team-high 16 kills, while Natalie Funk added seven blocks and three aces, and Hali Drezet posted a game-high 27 digs for the visitors.

Quotable
UFV outside hitter Gabrielle Attieh

"It's a tough loss. You never like to lose, but if I'm looking at it from a big picture view, having a loss like that tonight involves a lot of learning afterwards. At this point in the season, I'm excited for the amount of growth that is going to come out of tonight."

"We learned a lot about what we are like when we are being pushed to our limits, and into next weekend and the rest of the season, I think we know that we have each other's backs."

Where they sit
The loss ends a run of ten games unbeaten for UFV as they drop to 14-6 on the year. Meanwhile, the Heat improve to 9-11 this season with the win.   

The Cascades now head on the road for a pair of pivotal matchups with Manitoba on Friday and Saturday.