Abbotsford B.C. – It came down to the final possession of the game, but the UFV Cascades women's volleyball team fell 71-67 to the University of Victoria Vikes on Friday at the UFV Athletic Centre.

The loss drops the Cascades to 5-2 on the season, while the Vikes improve to 4-3.

How It happened:
The Cascades came flying out to an 11-2 lead, as Julia Tuchscherer put away six of her 10 first quarter points. The Vikes however, stormed back and an Abigail Becker jumper tied the score up at 19 at the end of the quarter.

The teams traded runs in the second, but a 7-0 run near the end of the frame helped the Vikes go up 40-35 at the break.

A Meike Boerstra jumper midway through the fourth extended the Victoria advantage to 14 points, but six late free throws from UFV helped close the gap to just seven heading into the fourth. 

Nikki Cabuco hit back-to-back triples with under four minutes to play, as the Cascades climbed their way back to a four-point lead, but a Natalie Allison three tied it back up with 1:21 remaining. Mimi Sigue hit a pair of free throws with 23 seconds remaining to set up a final possession for UFV with time draining, but Sigue managed to steal it late and lay it in to put the Vikes up by four and seal the win. 

Notable:
Julia Tuchscherer had a team-high 18 points and three blocks for the Cascades on the night, while Nikki Cabuco hit five three-pointers for 15 points. Maddy Gobeil and Esther Allison each tallied 13. 

Tana Pankratz had 20 points for the Vikes, while Mimi Sigue had 15, and Abigail Becker had 12. 

Quotable:
Cascades forward Esther Allison 

"The first half wasn't our best half. We weren't competing as well as we should have. Going into the second half we had a bit of a comeback, but it didn't end the way we wanted it to, obviously. We just have to start games at a more competitive level."

"I've been here for four years now and every year I have improved a bit more. This year it's finally starting to click for me, and having such a hard off season where we are in the gym every day working it really helped me."

What's Next:
The Cascades and the Vikes meet again on Saturday, with tipoff set for 3pm at the UFV Athletic Centre. 

UFV students get free admission to all UFV Cascades home games with their student card, and you can keep up with all the action at gocascades.ca, or by following the UFV Cascades on social media at @ufvcascades