The University of the Fraser Valley Cascades women’s volleyball team keeps rolling and have now won seven straight.
The Cascades dominated on the road in Edmonton over the weekend, picking up a pair of 3-0 wins over the MacEwan Griffins on Friday (Jan. 13) and Saturday (Jan. 14).
Friday saw the Cascades jump out to big leads in each set (25-12, 25-21 and 25-23) to pick up the sweep.
UFV’s Emily Matsui had a game-high 14 digs to lead the Cascades defensively. On the offensive side, Lauren Attieh had a team leading 15 kills to go with 10 digs, and Gabrielle Attieh added 12 kills and 10 digs. Cailin Bitter posted 24 assists to go with her three aces and five digs in the match.
“We played a really clean execution game tonight. Cailin [Bitter] and Kinna [Fisher] moved the ball around really well using all our offensive threats,” stated head coach Janelle Rozema. “Mo [Likness] was out for health reasons tonight, and Zoe Arca really stepped up to the challenge. She started the match with some tough serves and got some really good blocks at key times.”
WVB FINAL | The Cascades close out the final set 25-19!@goufv 3@macewangriffins 0#weclimbweconquer pic.twitter.com/ZStcqoediH
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) January 15, 2023
It was a similar story on Saturday, with the Cascades again starting out with big leads en route to wins in a 3-0 (25-12, 25-17 and 25-19) sweep.
Matsui had another great game for the Cascades defensively. The libero posted 17 digs as she continues her excellent campaign that currently has her sitting second in Canada West in both total digs and digs per set.
Gabrielle Attieh had another fantastic performance for UFV as she notched 10 kills, 12 digs, and five aces in the win.
“Emily [Matsui] played a very solid match defensively for us, and Lauren Attieh was very solid offensively. Our middles Mo [Likness] and Alicja [Hardy-Francis] did an excellent job at their block assignments and game plan,” Rozema stated. “I am very proud of the foundation that we are working hard to establish here, but I think it’s important we don’t get ahead of ourselves, and we stay on each task.”
The women now have a record of 11-5 and are in a tie for third place in Canada West.
MVB | Caleb Kastelein crushes this one from the back row, and the Cascades go on to take the opening set 25-15!#weclimbweconquer pic.twitter.com/qSUMJVPH5d
— UFV Cascades (@UFVCascades) January 14, 2023
The men’s volleyball team collected a split Edmonton, beating the Griffins 3-0 (25-22, 25-20 and 25-23) on Friday but then falling 3-2 (25-18, 18-25, 25-21, 22-25 and 13-15) on Saturday.
“We were just fighting the process the entire night and things came a bit easier for them, but they played a better defensive game than we did, they transitioned the ball better than we did, and I think they passed better than we did, so MacEwan was the better team tonight and they deserved to win,” stated men’s head coach Nathan Bennett after Saturday.
The men drop to 4-12 on the season and they sit tied for 11th place in the CW.
The men and women remain on the road this weekend for games against the TRU Wolfpack in Kamloops on Friday (Jan. 20) and Saturday (Jan. 21).
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