Abbotsford, BC – A young UFV Cascades lineup led by rookie setter Tayven Magnowski, who was making his first start in Canada West, battled hard but ultimately fell in a three-set battle to the U SPORTS No. 1 ranked UBC Thunderbirds on Friday. 

The Thunderbirds closed it out by set scores of 25-20, 25-21, and 25-16 to improve to 16-1 on the season, while UFV drops to 0-17. 

How it Happened:
UFV started strong, building an 11-6 lead on a Hudson Brandsma kill after taking advantage of some scrappy defending and strong serving. The nation's top-ranked team would surge to life from there, with a 6-1 run tying it up at 12. After trading a few points another 5-0 run for UBC would give them a 19-15 advantage, as they closed out the opening set by five.

The teams would go point for point in the early stages of the second, but a 5-1 run for UBC would make it 16-11 and give them full control. A kill from Roan McCarthy would help UFV close the gap to three in the late stages, but the Thunderbirds would hold on to take it 25-21.

UBC would snag a 17-15 lead in the third, and an 8-1 run would end the match for the visitors. 

Notable:
UFV setter Tayven Magnowski had 17 assists and an ace in his first career Canada West start. Hudson Brandsma posted eight kills for UFV, while Easton Sarich and McCarthy each added six on the night.

Reeve Gingera had a match-high 15 kills for UBC, while Mason Greves posted 37 set assists.

Up next:
The Cascades and Thunderbirds renew acquaintances once again on Saturday, with the first serve coming at 5:45pm in Abbotsford.

To keep up with all the action follow the Cascades on social media at @ufvcascades