Mariners Earn a Split at Home vs the Blues
After a thrilling home victory Friday night vs the Blues, the Mariners found out that wins in the PACWEST were a hard commodity to come by. The Blues came out strong in today’s rematch and they handed the Mariners their 5th loss of the season, taking the match in four sets.
Capilano took the first two sets 25-23 and 25-19 but VIU came back strong in the third set winning 25-20. Capilano rebounded by taking the fourth set 25-22 to win the match. The Blues were led by Brendan Cairns (17 kills, 3 blocks, 13 aces), Victor Zych (15 kills and 10 digs) and John Dela Cruz (10 kills, 4 blocks, 1 ace and 5 digs). VIU’s top players on the day were Zach Grigg (15 kills, 1 block, 3 aces and 7 digs) and Ariel Acosta (8 kills, 5 blocks and 3 aces)
Head coach Abe Avender commented, “The guys came into the gym hoping to get our second win. The focus and motivation in the team room was definitely there, but the mental quality on the court was lacking as the match progressed on Saturday. Wins are not going to be easy to come by this season against any team and our guys need to realize what it takes to win a match really soon. Moving forward we will be grateful for the win, but I hope we will learn more from the loss on Saturday.”
The Mariners are back in action next week as they play host the CBC Bearcats while the Blues sit idle.
PACWEST