Kelowna, BC – It took all five sets, but the USPORTS No. 6 ranked UFV Cascades picked up the victory over the UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday in Kelowna. Led by Gabrielle Attieh's team-high 19 kills, the Cascades took the match with set scores of 25-14, 17-25, 21-25, 25-23, and 15-11.

The Cascades improve to 18-3 and continue their 12-game win streak, while the Heat drop to 9-12 with the result. 

How it Happened
The Cascades took control early with Talia Attieh notching two kills and an ace in quick succession, to help the UFV side take a 15-4 lead in the opening set, before closing it out 25-14.

Natalie Funk, the Heat's third-year middle and product of Strathmore, Alta., fired home a kill, followed shortly by an ace in the second set to secure UBCO a seven-point advantage. With this lead in hand, the Heat finished off the second set to even the match.

The Heat took a 12-5 lead in the third and captured the set to move just one set away from the victory. However, UFV, determined to maintain their winning streak, gradually narrowed a seven-point deficit in the fourth, locking down crucial rally points to ultimately take the set and force the match to a fifth and deciding set.

The fifth set saw a back-and-forth exchange of points until Gabrielle Attieh of Surrey, B.C., embarked on an impressive five-point serving streak for the Cascades, notching two serving aces to help her team storm back to take the match.

Top Performers:
Gabrielle Attieh's 19 kills and three aces led the way for UFV, while Mo Liknes had eight blocks, and Emily Matsui finished with 19 digs. 

Hellen Lacava Luvizetti had a team-high 11 kills and 14 digs, while Natalie Funk had two aces and five blocks for the Heat.

Quotable:
Cascades head coach Janelle Rozema

"UBCO started serving tougher, stopped making mistakes, and the gym really started to fill up in that second set. It got really loud, and I think we started feeling that playoff atmosphere and pressure. It took us a while to acclimatize to that, but for us to execute when the whole gym was against us in the fifth set, it was a great experience for our team going into playoffs."

Up next:
The Cascades and Heat Clash once again on Saturday, with the first serve set for 4p.m. As always, the game can be streamed live on canadawest.tv.