Abbotsford, BC – Mo Likness had a game-high seven blocks for the UFV Cascades as they battled to a five-set victory over the University of Winnipeg Wesmen on Thursday night at the UFV Athletic Centre.

UFV (14-3) got a stiff test from the Wesmen (6-11) in the first meeting between these teams since last year's playoff series. 

As it happened: 
The Cascades jumped out to an early 13-7 lead, but the Wesmen climbed back to tie it at 18, and a pair of short runs late in the set allowed a Jaya Dzikowicz kill to take the opener 25-22 for Winnipeg.

Back-to-back blocks by Likness and an ace from Cailin Bitter gave the Cascades a 16-8 advantage in the second as they finished it off 25-19.  

Two more Bitter aces to start the third gave UFV a 4-0 start, but service errors proved to be an issue for the Cascades, and the Wesmen leveled it at 20 on a Brooke Duncalfe kill. The teams traded points from there, but a late UFV service ace gave Winnipeg a n advantage and they took the set 26-24. 

The Cascades struggled from the service line, tallying 15 service errors through three sets compared to just four from the Wesmen.

After UFV jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fourth, the Wesmen responded to take an 11-9 lead. Back-to-back kills from Natalie Crews re-established a Cascades lead, and late kills by Talia Attieh and Likness sent it to a fifth set. 

The teams traded points throughout the final set, but the Cascades proved to be too strong down the stretch, scoring the final three points to end it 15-11.

Top performers: 
Likness had seven blocks on the night for UFV to lead the charge on defence, while Emily Matsui added 22 digs on the night. Offensively, Gabrielle Attieh posted a team-high 18 kills, while Lauren Attieh notched 16, and Talia Attieh had 15. 

Jaya Dzikowicz had 15 kills to lead the Wesmen, while Brooke Duncalfe had 14. Selva Planicic posted a team-high 22 digs, and Grace Vallis had four blocks.  

Quotable:
Cascades middle Mo Likness

"We started off really well – how we wanted to, and Winnipeg just kept testing us and creeping back in. We talked about it in the post-game meeting that they beat us on the little things. We are going to come back tomorrow and be better at that."

"For me, playing in that playoff game and losing that third game, I think we just took it to heart. Winnipeg is a great team – and it's Canada West, so every team is going to come for us, but I've been waiting for this game for a while."

Up next:
The Cascades are home again on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. UFV Students attend for free with a valid student ID. Public tickets can be purchased online at gocascades.ca/tickets. The game can also be seen live on canadawest.tv.