Royals beat Cascades in three sets

The Douglas Royals completed a weekend sweep of the University of the Fraser Valley men’s volleyball team, prevailing in three sets on Saturday evening at UFV’s Student Activity Centre.

The Royals, ranked No. 5 in the nation, were coming off a four-set triumph on Friday, and they dispatched the Cascades in Saturday’s rematch by scores of and 25-14, 25-15 and 25-20.

UFV falls to 12-10, good for fourth in the PACWEST, while second-place Douglas improves to 18-4.

“We struggled to pass tonight, and that made it tough,” Cascades head coach Kyle Donen analyzed. “When we passed the ball well, we were able to put the ball away. When we didn’t, we were in trouble a lot of the time. It makes it difficult to win against a team that’s big, and has a big block up there.”

Donen lauded the play of middles Dayton Pagliericci and Connor Nickel, and felt that his team did a better job of staying even-keeled emotionally than they had the night before, when they won the first set 25-12 only to drop the next three.

But they just weren’t sharp enough against a Douglas team which kept them under pressure with their serves all night.

“Other than the fact that we played amazing in the first set yesterday, I think tonight was a little bit better,” Donen said. “But we just need to look forward. This was not the weekend we were expecting, but we’ve got two more games to finish the season strong and the playoffs are right around the corner. We’ll be better next week, and we’ll be well-prepared for the playoffs.”

The Cascades volleyball teams wrap up the PACWEST regular season next weekend with a home-and-home series vs. the Columbia Bible College Bearcats. The crosstown rivals play Thursday at Columbia Place, and Friday at UFV’s Envision Athletic Centre. Games times are 6 p.m. for the women and 8 p.m. for the men both nights.

Dan Kinvig,  UFV Communications Coordinator