The University of the Fraser Valley volleyball teams both saw their seasons come to an end on Thursday with losses in the PacWest quarter-finals.
At the conference championship tournament at Camosun College in Victoria, the No. 4-seeded Cascades women dropped a five-set decision (23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 22-25, 15-8) to the No. 5 College of the Rockies Avalanche. Middle Monique Huber picked up player of the game honours for the Cascades after registering six kills, two blocks and three aces.
“It was a back-and-forth game where we took turns trading punches,” UFV head coach Dennis Bokenfohr said afterward. “It was a good fight throughout, and you never want to see it go to the fifth set – it’s a wild card.”
The UFV men’s team also sustained their defeat in heartbreaking five-set fashion, falling to their crosstown rival Columbia Bible College Bearcats (20-25, 25-22, 25-17, 25-27, 15-10). The Bearcats came in ranked No. 4 in the nation, but the Cascades gave them all they could handle, thanks in part to a big game from Adam Chaplin (18 kills, five aces). Kurtis Stromdahl chipped in with 10 kills, while Isaiah Dahl collected 22 digs.
“We couldn’t have been more prepared – I thought we had a really good effort,” UFV head coach Kyle Donen said. “We battled and pushed them to the very edge. I have no regrets of how we played and what we did. It was one of the better team games we’ve been able to play in a while.”
For more information, contact Dan Kinvig at dan.kinvig@ufv.ca
03/04/2015