UFV women’s volleyball finishes fourth in PACWEST championships

The second ranked UFV Cascades women’s volleyball team (20-4) had a tougher time than expected at the PACWEST Volleyball Championship last weekend in Vancouver, and couldn’t quite escape with a second trip to CCAA Nationals. The women received a bye in the first round of the tournament, and consequently their first game was a semifinal match against the third ranked Capilano University Blues (15-9) on Fri, Feb 21.

Missteps have been rare this season for the Cascades, but Friday’s 0-3 loss to the Blues was a misstep that came at profoundly the wrong moment. The Cascades surrendered three straight sets (25-19, 25-23, 25-23), simultaneously knocking themselves out of Saturday’s gold medal match and competition for a spot at nationals. It was a tough blow for a UFV squad that lost only four matches all year, and a timely win for the Blues program.

On Saturday the Cascades battled the Camosun College Chargers (12-12) for PACWEST bronze, and came up just short in a 2-3 decision (22-25, 25-13, 22-25, 25-22, 14-16). Fifth-year Cascade Jenna Evans had 14 kills and 19 digs over the five sets With the loss the Cascades drop to fourth place in the conference and abruptly end their 2013-2014 season.

“It goes without saying that we did not accomplish our hopes. We did try our best, but our best was not to be had this weekend,” said Cascades head coach Dennis Bokenfohr. “Each year we pursue a national title. This year we fell short in our goal in a fashion that is not sitting well with any of us. The reality is that losing is an option, even if it is not desired. It has been a good season clouded by a couple of bad games at the end. To quote coach Mike Babcock, ‘you need the stars and the moon to align sometimes, we might not think so but it is reality.’ This weekend was not ours to be had. No excuses. We came up short with our result. Our hope and desire is to not make this a habit.”

On Wednesday it was announced that the Cascades had been awarded two PACWEST First Team All-Stars (Jenna Evans, Krista Hogewoning), and one Second Team All-Star (Kierra Noot).