Abbotsford, BC – Mo Likness and Gabrielle Attieh led the way for the UFV Cascades on Saturday, as they climbed past the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack for a four-set victory (25-23, 25-22, 22-25, 25-22). 

The Cascades improve to 17-3 with the win and climb into second place in the conference, while TRU drops to 6-14 on the season.  

How it Happened
UFV flew out to a 14-5 lead in the first, after four early kills from G. Attieh. However, TRU pushed back, getting back-to-back aces from Keira Gent. The WolfPack pulled back within one point late, but a fifth kill of the set from G. Attieh finished off the opener.

Both teams traded shots in the second, but with the score level at 20, a kill from Talia Attieh and a pair of blocks from Likness gave the Cascades a three-point lead. A kill from Likness closed out the frame.

After TRU scored the opening four points of the third set, Gabrielle Attieh went on a service run that included two aces, and UFV took a 7-4 lead. An Addison Witkowski ace would tie it back up for the visitors, and a pair of back-to-back aces from Ema Palkovica allowed them to extend the match.

The teams found themselves tied up at 15 in the fourth before a pair of blocks and a kill from Mo Likness made it 20-16. TRU responded to level the score at 22, but G. Attieh found a kill before icing the match with another pair of aces.

Top Performers:
Gabrielle Attieh led the Cascades with 11 kills and six aces, while Mo Likness added 10 kills and eight blocks in the win. Setter Cailin Bitter finished the match with 38 assists, and Libero Emily Matsui finished with 15 digs.

Brooklyn Olfert had a team-high 19 kills, while Keira Gent added 13 for TRU. Addison WitKowski added four blocks and four aces on the night, and Ema Palkovicova had 18 digs.

Quotable:
Cascades middle Mo Likness

"We had a really good weekend, and Thompson Rivers really put the pressure on us which is good because that is what we are going to see heading into playoffs. TRU put up a great fight and their defence was unreal.."

"Every weekend we play we get a new grocery list of things that we need to keep working on,  and every weekend is a learning experience that we can take into next week's practice. It's a whole team effort, and everyone is giving their one hundred percent, so I couldn't be more proud of this team."

Up next:
The Cascades head to Kelowna next week to take on the UBC Okanagan Heat on Friday and Saturday.  Both games can be seen live on canadawest.tv.