Abbotsford, BC - On a night that started with a 30-minute delay due to a fire alarm in the UFV Athletic Centre, it was the University of the Fraser Valley Cascades that caught fire on the court. The hosts captured a 3-1 (25-19, 25-16, 21-25, 25-19) victory over the MacEwan University Griffins in game one of the Canada West women's volleyball play-in.
The Cascades, who enter the playoffs as the seventh seed, hit a combined .245 on the night, while the 10th seeded Griffins were kept to just .130.
"We prepared really well, so we could just play our game", explained UFV fifth year middle Sydney Wright after the match.
"It felt like we were always in control, and we were excited that they were bringing their best volleyball [in the third set]. It's playoffs, so you always want to play a good opponent."
After the Cascades raced out to a 15-10 lead in the opening set, the Griffins battled back, scoring four straight points capped off by an Arden Butler ace to pull back within one. UFV answered back with kills from Talia Attieh and Feist before Attieh and Wright combined for a block to pull away once more. Four kills from Lauren Attieh down the stretch would help the hosts seal it 25-19.
UFV continued to play lights out in the second set by finding 15 kills and three aces, compared to just six kills from MacEwan, as they led almost the entire frame on the way to the 25-16 set win.
The Griffins hit back in the third, building a 7-2 lead after aces from Kara Firth and Anika Buys. UFV slowly chipped away at the advantage, but after three straight kills from Butler the visitors led 16-11. The teams would trade short runs in the latter stages of the set, but another Frith kill finished it off 25-21.
Early runs in the fourth gave the Cascades a 22-13 lead and, despite the Griffins mounting a late push, a massive block from UFV rookie outside hitter Bianca Pura ended the match.
"We didn't respond", MacEwan head coach Chris Wandler noted after the match. "I don't know whether it was the weird start or just us not being ready to grow, but it wasn't what we expected. I thought we responded better coming into the third set, but UFV adjusted to that and by then we got down a few points and tried to play side-out volleyball but just couldn't play catch up."
"We'll look at some tape and see if we can adjust, but a little bit of a better response by our team, and we've been doing that all year, so I'm curious to see what that brings us tomorrow."
UFV's attack was led by Lauren Attieh with 18 kills, and Mandi Feist knocked down 16 of her own. Talia Attieh added 10 kills and a team-high 17 digs, while libero Reanna Gage had 12 digs and setter Cailin Bitter had 38 assists.
"They'll have that underdog mentality tomorrow, so we'll expect them to do well, and hopefully we'll do better," Wright noted on what the Cascades are expecting from game two.
"I want to play with these girls as long as possible, through playoffs and beyond. We're looking forward to it."
Meanwhile, a balanced attack from MacEwan saw Alyshia Bryks and Frith each score 11 kills, while Butler added nine of her own. Setter Payton Shimoda had 31 assists, and Kaitlyn Rolph had a match-high 18 digs.
Game two of the best-of-three series will go tomorrow at 6 p.m. PT at the UFV Athletic Centre, with the Griffins looking to force a decisive game three with a win.
